The so-called agreement on minerals with the United States does not provide for the recognition of debt by Ukraine, or the requirement to return aid. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Economy - Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka on the telethon, explaining how the structure of the agreement and the benefit for America should look like, writes UNN.
Details
"In fact, the US proposal that America's contribution will be so virtual (because the real contribution is the assistance that the US provides) is an approach that we saw in the document that became available earlier through leaks. At the same time, no one in the United States says that this is some kind of debt that we have to repay, or someone has to repay," Kachka explained.
The Deputy Minister told what the structure of the agreement should be.
It is about the fact that the structure should be such that from the activities of the Fund, from future investments in Ukraine, the United States, as one of the partners, and therefore Ukraine too, will earn at least as much as was provided as assistance, and maybe more. This is a future-oriented approach. How to write it correctly is the task for us. In my memory, this is one of the most difficult agreements in terms of delicacy and complexity of mechanisms, but at the same time there is no hidden recognition of debt or a requirement to return something
The Trade Representative of Ukraine stressed that this formula is mutually beneficial.
"If you read the memorandum that has been published, the logic is quite clearly written in the first five paragraphs that this is a Fund about the fact that the American people will be able to earn at least as much as assistance was provided in the future from investments in Ukraine. This is a fairly mutually beneficial formula," he said.
When asked whether the "virtual contribution" is no longer being discussed, Kachka replied: "We are working on formulations that would make everyone clearly understand how it will look like. It is the task of the negotiating team to find the right wording."
Addition
Ukraine and the United States signed a memorandum on the agreement on minerals.
According to the text of the memorandum, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will visit Washington on April 21 to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and support at a high level the completion of technical discussions on the terms of the agreement on the establishment of a reconstruction investment fund.
US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine and the United States will sign an agreement on minerals next Thursday, April 24.
Kachka reported that on Thursday, April 24, a new round of negotiations with the United States on the agreement on minerals will begin. Whether the agreement will be ready on April 26 will depend on how effectively the negotiations go. There are no contradictions in the interests of Washington and Kyiv. The difficulty lies not in misunderstandings, but in the structure of the Reconstruction Investment Fund, he said.
On March 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukraine had received a new version of the agreement on minerals from the United States, which differs from the previous document. He stressed that Ukraine does not plan to recognize military assistance from the United States as a debt under the agreement.
The Trump administration, as Bloomberg writes, insists that Ukraine enter into an agreement on the distribution of profits from future Ukrainian investment projects, including minerals and infrastructure. Washington sees this as compensation for tens of billions of dollars in weapons and other assistance provided to Ukraine under former President Joe Biden since Russia began its full-scale invasion more than three years ago, the publication explains. But, according to reports, the Trump administration has lowered its assessment of aid to Ukraine from $300 billion to $100 billion, bringing it closer to the Ukrainian estimate of $90 billion.