Negotiators from Ukraine are in Washington ironing out the final details of an agreement to develop the country’s natural resources that they hope will strengthen their economic partnership with the US, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The two sides have agreed on the main accord and were working on some technical elements in separate texts, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. While both sides see an agreement as close, the Ukrainians wanted to sign the overarching deal now and nail down the details later. But the US is insisting that all components must be agreed on together, one of the people said.
“Our side is ready to sign,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday during a cabinet meeting at the White House. “The Ukrainians decided last night to make some last-minute changes. We’re sure that they will reconsider that. And we are ready to sign this afternoon, if they are.”
The agreement “will be signed in the near future, hopefully within 24 hours,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier in an interview with Ukrainian TV, adding that Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was on her way to Washington for the signing.
The two texts that still needed to be fully agreed on include mechanisms to make sure funds are traceable in line with international best practices, one of the people said, adding that the US side is ready to sign the existing drafts after negotiators worked into the early hours of Wednesday.
The US is “committed to the quick conclusion of this vital agreement, and to securing a lasting peace in Ukraine,” a Treasury spokesperson told Bloomberg News. “President Trump has said that the time to get this done is now, and we are moving with all deliberate speed toward this end.”
The deal, which would give the US privileged access to new investment projects to develop Ukraine’s natural resources — including aluminum, graphite, oil and natural gas — has been in the works since February. The Ukrainian cabinet is prepared to approve the accord, which would need to be ratified by the country’s parliament, Shmyhal said.
Under the agreement, the US and Ukraine will seek to create conditions to “increase investment in mining, energy, and related technology in Ukraine,” according to a draft of the document seen by Bloomberg News. Washington also acknowledges Kyiv’s intention that the deal avoid any conflict with its plans to join the European Union — long seen as a red line for Ukraine in the talks.
In another breakthrough, the US has agreed that only future military assistance it may provide to Ukraine would count toward its contribution to the fund, according to the document. Shmyhal, the Ukrainian prime minister, said Sunday that Washington had dropped its insistence that the deal provide for repayment of billions of dollars in aid already delivered since the start of Russia’s invasion.
The signing could come as President Donald Trump grows increasingly frustrated over delays in clinching a ceasefire in the war, currently into its fourth year. He has questioned whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to make progress toward a peace plan that Trump sought to deliver within the first 100 days of his new administration. Trump is “confident” a deal on critical minerals will be signed with Ukraine, the White House said on Tuesday.
The minerals agreement “strengthens the strategic partnership between the Parties for the long-term reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, in response to the large-scale destruction caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion,” according to the document.
US and Ukrainian officials signed a memorandum of intent earlier in April, and continued to hash out the technical details of the deal, which would grant the US first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund that would be controlled by Washington.
A previous attempt to clinch the agreement fell through earlier this year after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office. Zelenskiy met one-on-one with the US president at the Vatican on Saturday before the funeral of Pope Francis.
Russia intensified its attacks across Ukraine’s front line and several cities overnight, as the Kremlin takes a maximalist line in peace negotiations brokered by the US. While Trump envoy Steve Witkoff sought to persuade Putin that Russia should agree to a ceasefire that halts fighting along the current battle lines, the Russian leader insisted Moscow must take full control of four regions of Ukraine which it claims but doesn’t fully occupy, Bloomberg News reported.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated on Tuesday that Trump was getting frustrated with the difficulty of getting both Ukraine and Russia to agree to a peace deal, but that “he remains optimistic that we can get this done.”
With assistance from Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Volodymyr Verbianyi, Piotr Skolimowski, Olesia Safronova and Courtney McBride.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
