US, Ukraine sign long-awaited minerals deal

KABUL (Pajhwok): Washington and Kiev have inked an agreement on the joint exploitation of Ukraine’s energy and mineral resources, the BBC reported on Thursday.

Under the deal, signed after months of tense talks, the two countries will set up a reconstruction investment fund to bolster Ukraine’s war-hit economy.

The agreement was reflective of commitment on both sides to durable peace and prosperity in Ukraine, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Ukraine is blessed with vast reserves of critical minerals like graphite, titanium and lithium, which can be used in renewable energy, military applications and industrial infrastructure.

In a statement the Treasury said on Wednesday the Reconstruction Investment Fund recognised the “significant financial and material support” Ukraine had received from the US since Russia invaded it in early 2022.

“No state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine,” the statement added.

After initialing the deal in Washington, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X the new fund would “attract global investment into our country”.

In exchange for future US security assistance, Kiev will grant Washington access to some of its natural resources, according to the draft agreement.

Expected to be signed in February, the deal was scuttled in the wake of testy exchanges at the White House between President Donald Trump and Zelensky.

PAN Monitor/mud