The agreement between Ukraine and the United States on mineral resources is "a forced agreement with a difficult future." CNN international security columnist Nick Payton Walsh writes about this in his article entitled "The Ukrainian Mineral Agreement is Largely Symbolic, But That's Enough for Donald Trump," reports UNN.
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He notes that this agreement arose from months of intense bargaining and stems from a Ukrainian idea that was first proposed during the friendly relations between the countries during the Joe Biden administration.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had no choice but to sign something or risk another seismic break in his relationship with President Donald Trump,
At the same time, he points out that the signed document lays the foundation for a long-term relationship between the United States and Ukraine, although it does not provide an "ironclad guarantee of American profits in the coming years of the Trump administration."
However, the main point was symbolism. Trump needed to feel that America was getting something from Kyiv. Ukraine needed to show that its relationship with the White House was functional and improving. Ukraine's allies needed it done and dusted to distract from the difficult conversations about military aid and a real peace that must now be their focus,
He adds that new US presidents will decide whether to implement or revise the agreement.
"And anyone who has worked or done business in Ukraine knows that they (Ukrainians - ed.) are masters at "interpreting" documents and agreements to their advantage. The world of natural resources is opaque there anyway, and it is unlikely that this high-profile agreement will suddenly usher in full business transparency," Payton Walsh summarizes.
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According to Reuters forecasts, Ukraine and the United States will begin to receive financial benefits from the mineral agreement in a decade or more, as investors face many obstacles to launching new mines in the war-torn country.