Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump on February 28 to finalize a key mineral deal between the two countries, Zelensky confirmed in a speech on the evening of February 26.
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| Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Donald Trump in Paris, December 7, 2024. (Source: nehandaradio.com) |
Information about Ukrainian President Zelensky meeting with White House owner Donald Trump in Washington today (February 28) to sign a mineral agreement was also widely reported by international media.
The top leaders of both countries seem to be hopeful about this huge mineral deal. President Trump also confirmed that the US and Ukraine have reached a huge deal, possibly worth billions of dollars, related to rare earths and many other things.
Supporters of the deal say the economic partnership gives the United States a vested interest in protecting Ukraine from future threats from Russia. But observers warn that the high-level U.S.-Ukraine meeting in Washington is fraught with risks, as the two leaders pursue different goals.
While the Ukrainian president seeks future security guarantees for Kiev, White House boss Trump is more interested in access to and benefits from exploiting Ukraine's huge mineral resources.
Even the wording of the agreement that the two sides are about to sign shows that there is a high possibility of disagreement. US President Trump announced that the two sides are about to sign a "very big agreement", while the head of Ukraine only described it as a "framework agreement", with the details to be added when he negotiates directly with his US counterpart.
The Ukrainian president said the proposed deal with the US on resources was a “preliminary agreement” and he wanted to discuss the two countries’ relationship further directly with the US president. “The level of success will depend on my conversation with President Trump,” Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, CNN said that the draft obtained by the media agency showed that the content did not provide Kiev with clear security guarantees.
“With Mr. Trump determined to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and withdraw some of Washington's financial aid to Kiev, Mr. Zelensky hopes that the mineral deal can secure the US leader's future support, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine,” CNN commented.
In fact, the draft of the mineral agreement that CNN had access to, as of the morning of February 26, only stated that the US "supports Ukraine's efforts to achieve the security guarantees necessary to establish lasting peace ," without making any clear commitments.
At a press conference in Kiev, Mr Zelensky admitted that the deal did not contain “concrete steps on security guarantees” as these needed to be decided jointly with both the US and Europe.
The Ukrainian president said the deal could be a "great success", but stressed that it only provided a "framework" that could be "part of future security guarantees", which he hoped to discuss during his planned meeting with the White House boss.
“Ukraine is grateful for the US support, but I will ask Mr. Trump directly, “will the US stop supporting (Ukraine),” Mr. Zelensky shared.
The U.S.-Ukraine draft is called the Agreement Establishing the Rules and Conditions of the Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, leaving room for U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha to sign. The terms state that Ukraine will contribute to the Fund 50 percent of all future revenues from the divestment of state-owned resource assets, including hydrocarbons, oil and natural gas, as well as rare earth minerals and related infrastructure, into a common fund jointly managed by Washington and Kiev. The joint U.S.-Ukrainian contribution will be invested in Ukraine’s national reconstruction, economy and security.
The reconstruction fund will aim to “attract investment to enhance the development, processing and transformation of all public and private assets of Ukraine,” including the oil, gas and rare earths sectors, the draft text says.
More detailed terms regarding the governance and operations of the Fund will be negotiated and outlined in a follow-up agreement" after the initial deal is signed. CNN reported that both the US and Ukraine have agreed to the terms of the deal and that Zelensky is expected to travel to Washington, DC, according to a Ukrainian official.
Some Ukrainians are unsettled by reports that Kiev will grant Washington access to its natural resources, while the Trump administration has responded with vague information about what it will offer in return, media reports said.
In fact, contrary to Mr. Zelensky's wishes, speaking on February 26 at a Cabinet meeting, President Trump made it clear that Washington would not provide direct military or security guarantees to Ukraine.
"I'm not going to give excessive security guarantees. But if there are any such promises, they will have to come from Europe, with very little support from Washington… We'll let Europe do it, because Europe is their neighbor," Mr. Trump said.
The White House chief also stressed his desire to end the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine military conflict, but it was unclear whether President Trump was implying that the US would refuse to provide direct military support to Ukraine if a peace deal was reached. Or could he allow Washington to play a military backing role for European countries deploying peacekeeping forces to post-conflict Ukraine?
However, the clearest goal in pursuing the mineral deal is that the US leader makes no secret that he is "trying to get back the money" that the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden gave Ukraine to help the country repel Russia's military campaign.
"The important thing... is that I don't want to pay any more. Now we're going to get all of that money back and even more," Trump said. The White House boss also mentioned the figure of $350 billion, however, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said that the actual amount of US aid to Ukraine since February 2022 is about $120 billion.
Echoing President Trump’s position, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued that the existence of a US financial interest in Ukraine’s reserves of titanium, lithium, uranium, and rare earth minerals is the best security guarantee the country can have.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/toan-tinh-khac-nhau-ve-thoa-thuan-khoang-san-ty-usd-cuoc-gap-cap-cao-my-ukraine-lieu-co-suon-se-305865.html
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