The United States and Ukraine have resumed negotiations on a natural resources agreement, which U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly views as a way for Ukraine to “recoup” the irreversible aid it has received from the U.S., as passed by both chambers of U.S. Congress.
This was reported by The New York Times on Friday, highlighting the arrival of a Ukrainian government delegation in Washington.
“A Ukrainian delegation was in Washington on Friday for a new round of talks about a deal that would give the United States a major stake in Ukraine’s natural resources,” the article states.
The current discussions mark the first meeting of officials since the White House presented a revised draft agreement that revived tough demands Kyiv had earlier rejected. These two-day talks are expected to be mostly technical.
Ukraine’s delegation is led by Deputy Minister of Economy in charge of trade Taras Kachka and includes representatives from the Ministries of Economy and Justice. The White House has not disclosed details on the talks.
The NYT reports that the new U.S. proposal essentially revives Trump’s initial demand that Ukraine must repay the U.S. for the aid it has received since the start of Russia’s invasion in 2022 — not directly in cash, but through a resource-sharing mechanism.
“As in earlier proposals, Ukraine would have to contribute half its revenue from natural resource projects — including critical minerals, oil and gas, as well as related infrastructure such as ports and pipelines — to a U.S.-controlled investment fund. Profits from the fund would be reinvested in Ukrainian natural resource projects, though the exact share of such profit remained unclear,” the publication states.
The United States also would like to retain a “right of first offer” on new projects and the power to veto sales of Ukrainian resources to third countries. Besides, in the first year of the agreement, Ukraine would be prohibited from offering any investment projects to third parties with better financial or economic terms than those offered to the United States.
The fund would be overseen by the International Development Finance Corporation, a U.S. government agency that invests in foreign projects. The agency would appoint three board members, while Ukraine would only have two, effectively giving the U.S. majority control over investment decisions.
As reported by Ukrinform, taking into account the specifics of U.S. and Ukrainian legislation, the Ukrainian government allocated UAH 113 million from the state budget’s reserve fund during the preparation of a unified position in the negotiations on the mineral resources agreement. These funds will be used to carry out activities related to the provision of consulting services for the preparation of the draft agreement.
