U.S. and Ukraine talks on contentious minerals deal: “The negotiating environment is very antagonistic”

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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, writes ‘The New York Times’.

The new proposal, reviewed by ‘The New York Times’, reverts to Mr. Trump’s initial demand that Ukraine repay the United States for the billions it has received in military and financial aid since Russia’s invasion three years ago.

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 new draft also echoes earlier versions by omitting any mention of security guarantees for Ukraine, a provision that Kyiv had long pressed for and managed to include in a draft last month — but one that Washington had long resisted.

The new proposal includes stricter terms than earlier drafts: Washington would claim all profit from the fund until Kyiv repaid at least the equivalent of the U.S. aid received during the war plus 4 percent annual interest.

The United States also would retain a “right of first offer” on new projects and the power to veto sales of Ukrainian resources to third countries. And 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 controlled by the International Development Finance Corporation, a U.S. government agency responsible for investing in companies and projects abroad. The agency would nominate three board members — while Ukraine would have only two — and would oversee each project where earnings from the fund are invested.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials met on Friday on a U.S. proposal to gain access to Ukraine's mineral wealth, a source with knowledge of the matter said, adding that prospects for a breakthrough were scant given the meeting's "antagonistic" atmosphere, Reuters reports.

The strains in the Washington talks stemmed from the Trump administration's latest draft proposal, which is more expansive than the original version, the source said.

"The negotiating environment is very antagonistic," the source said, pointing to the "maximalist" draft submitted by the Trump administration last month.

A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed the discussions, calling them "technical in nature."

The latest draft would give the U.S. privileged access to Ukraine's mineral deposits and require Kyiv to place in a joint investment fund all income from the exploitation of natural resources by Ukrainian state and private firms.

The proposed deal, however, would not provide U.S. security guarantees to Kyiv – a top priority of Zelenskiy.

The source said that one of the "Easter eggs" found in the document was a U.S. demand that the U.S. government's International Development Finance Corporation take control of a natural gas pipeline from Russian energy giant Gazprom across Ukraine to Europe.

President Trump sees a deal for resource as a way to “recoup” past U.S. aid to Ukraine.

The United States opened the negotiations in February with tough financial demands that Zelensky warned would take “generations of Ukrainians” to repay.

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