Ukraine will not proceed with a minerals agreement with the U.S. if it jeopardizes its path to European Union membership, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on March 28.
Zelensky’s comments followed reports about a newly proposed draft of the agreement between Kyiv and Washington. According to the Financial Times on March 27, the latest version put forward by the U.S. includes provisions that would grant Washington significant control over Ukraine’s natural resources through a joint investment fund.
The Ukrainian online newspaper, Yevropeiska Pravda, reported that the deal could conflict with Ukraine’s EU accession process due to strict limitations that might compromise the country’s economic sovereignty.
“Our Constitution clearly defines our course toward the EU,” Zelensky told reporters. “We cannot accept anything that poses a risk to Ukraine’s EU accession.” He confirmed that Ukraine officially received the updated minerals agreement from the U.S. on March 28.
Zelensky emphasized that he would review the agreement only when there are no legal risks involved. He also noted that legal experts should compare all versions of the deal and provide their assessments.
“The new version of the deal contains many elements that were not previously discussed. Additionally, there are aspects that both sides had earlier rejected,” he added.
Originally, Washington intended to finalize the agreement on February 28, but negotiations stalled following a contentious exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelensky at the White House.
On March 25, Zelensky acknowledged that the U.S. had proposed a significant minerals deal based on a prior framework, though he did not specify when it might be signed. Trump, a day earlier, had indicated that he expected the agreement to be finalized “soon.”
The initial draft of the deal outlined the creation of a fund, requiring Ukraine to contribute 50% of proceeds from future extraction of state-owned resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.
The version previously approved by Kyiv does not contain security guarantees but specifies that the fund must be reinvested annually in Ukraine to enhance the country’s safety, security, and prosperity.
The White House has characterized the minerals agreement as a way for the U.S. to recover some of the financial aid it has provided to Ukraine since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
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