In another diplomatic win for Donald Trump, Kyiv has reached an agreement with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials believe will strengthen ties with the Trump administration and lay the groundwork for a long-term U.S. security commitment. Officials in Kyiv say they are now prepared to sign the deal to jointly develop Ukraine’s mineral resources including oil and gas after the U.S. backed off demands for a $500 billion stake in potential revenues from resource exploitation.
According to a report from The Financial Times, while the agreement lacks explicit security guarantees, officials argue that they secured far more favorable terms and see the deal as a crucial step toward strengthening ties with the U.S. — a move they believe will bolster Ukraine’s future after three years of war.
“The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture,” Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister, told the Financial Times on Tuesday. Stefanishyna led the negotiations with the United States.
The original draft’s stringent terms — framed by President Donald Trump as a way for Ukraine to repay the U.S. for military and financial aid since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 — sparked outrage in Kyiv and across European capitals. After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the proposal last week, Trump labeled him a “dictator” and appeared to suggest that Ukraine bore responsibility for starting the war. This hardline approach reflects Trump’s “Art of the Deal” strategy, aiming to secure maximum advantage in negotiations.
The final version of the agreement, dated February 24 and seen by the FT, would establish a fund into which Ukraine would contribute 50 per cent of proceeds from the “future monetisation” of state-owned mineral resources, including oil and gas, and associated logistics. The fund would invest in projects in Ukraine.
It excludes mineral resources that already contribute to Ukrainian government coffers, meaning it would not cover the existing activities of Naftogaz or Ukrnafta, Ukraine’s largest gas and oil producers.
However, the agreement omits any reference to US security guarantees which Kyiv had originally insisted on in return for agreeing to the deal. It also leaves crucial questions such as the size of the US stake in the fund and the terms of “joint ownership” deals to be hashed out in follow-up agreements.
Scott Jennings of CNN said that if Trump’s negotiations lead to an end to the war, Trump should get a Nobel Peace Prize.
“I'm willing to give the new administration some latitude to try to enact the political will of the people of the United States and that is for this to come to an end,” Jennings said. “The political will to continue funding an open-ended engagement is draining rapidly. I think you would acknowledge that. And so Trump here is a new broker on the field and has a chance to do something amazing and that is to get these two people to stop fighting and in that case, would bring some stability to the continent of Europe.”
Jennings continued, “I guess I'm willing to give them some latitude if the ultimate result is this what Pete Hegseth said initially, a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, those were his words. The United States strikes a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine, I would love that. And the governments in Europe decide that they do need to take a little more responsibility for their own national security. If these are the outcomes and the killing stops, they ought to give Donald Trump the Nobel Peace.”
If result of Trump’s peace efforts are and end to the killing, a sovereign & prosperous Ukraine, a rare earth mineral deal for the US, & Europe taking more responsibility for its own security…he’ll deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. He’s a new broker dealing in political reality. pic.twitter.com/8jUgmscRq1
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) February 25, 2025
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