Ukrainian team to visit US to continue talks on minerals deal

The Associated Press was informed about this by the Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, as reported by Ukrinform.

“The new draft agreement from the US shows that the intention to create a fund or jointly invest remains in force,” Sviridenko noted on Saturday during a trip to northern Ukraine.

The delegation from Kyiv will include representatives of the ministries of economy, foreign affairs, justice and finance.

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The long-running negotiations over the mineral deal have already strained relations between Kiev and Washington. The two sides were poised to sign a framework agreement in February, but that plan was derailed after a contentious Oval Office meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

After some Ukrainian lawmakers revealed the new project, critics saw it as an attempt to deprive Kyiv of control over its own natural resources and infrastructure. According to the leaked document, the new project covers not only rare earth minerals, but also gas and oil.

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Ukraine has significant reserves of more than 20 minerals considered strategically important by the United States, including titanium, used to make airplane wings, lithium, needed for many battery technologies, and uranium, used in nuclear power.

It is unclear why the U.S. has chosen to avoid signing a framework agreement and instead move forward with a more expansive draft that would likely require ratification by the Ukrainian parliament, the Associated Press reported. However, Ukrainian officials have been cautious in their comments on the draft’s contents, emphasizing that at this point it reflects the position of only one side. “What we have now is a document that reflects the position of the U.S. Treasury Department’s legal team,” Svyrydenko said.

“This is not the final version, this is not an agreed position,” the economy minister added. According to her, Ukraine's task now is to form a technical team for negotiations, define its red lines and basic principles, and send a delegation to Washington for technical discussions this week.

As reported by Ukrinform, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that a Ukrainian delegation may arrive in Washington in the near future to continue negotiations on the minerals agreement.