KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine and the U.S. could sign online a memorandum of intent on Thursday on the minerals deal currently being negotiated by the two countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
President Donald Trump has pushed for a deal that would allow the United States to have privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided by Washington to Ukraine under the previous presidency of Joe Biden.
The Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington at the end of last week for negotiations after the Trump administration offered a new, more expansive deal. The initial framework agreement that was agreed to has never been signed.
“This is a memorandum of intent. And we have positive, constructive intentions,” Zelenskiy told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
He added that the offer to sign the memorandum before the comprehensive deal, which would require ratification in the Ukrainian parliament, had come from the U.S. side.
Ukraine’s economy minister has said Kyiv and Washington made significant progress while discussing the agreement, and the memorandum is the first stage to record this.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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