“Antagonistic” tone marks US-Ukraine minerals deal talks, says Reuters source

Apr 12, 2025 - 17:00

antagonistic tone marks us-ukraine minerals deal talks says ukrainian trump has called proposed one “rare earths” though likely meant critical ukraine lacks major rare earth reserves holds some world’s largest

Negotiations between US and Ukrainian officials regarding American access to Ukraine’s mineral resources have deteriorated into an “antagonistic” atmosphere, Reuters reports, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.

Amid the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, Trump is pushing Ukraine to enter talks with Russia—allegedly to end the war—while pressuring Kyiv to accept a colonial-style mineral deal granting the US exclusive access to critical resources, including rare earths. The initial draft of the deal required Ukraine to contribute 50% of profits from future resource extraction to repay US military aid provided since 2022, which the Trump administration retroactively reclassified as a loan. The latest revised version escalated the contribution to 100%, with a 4% annual interest, before Ukraine could even access any profits.

According to Reuters, 11 April talks revealed significant obstacles to reaching an agreement after the Trump administration submitted what the source described as a “maximalist” draft proposal last month, which greatly expanded demands compared to earlier versions.

Ukraine-US minerals deal talks to begin April 11-12 in Washington

The Treasury Department confirmed to Reuters that discussions were taking place but only characterized them as “technical in nature.”

Ukraine seeks changes to Trump’s proposed “lifetime-reparations” minerals deal

The source told Reuters that the latest US proposal seeks privileged access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits while requiring Kyiv to channel all income from natural resource exploitation—including from both state and private Ukrainian firms—into a joint investment fund, while not providing security guarantees for Ukraine.

Trump claims Ukraine faces “big problems” if it backs out of rare earth agreement

Reuters’ source said one surprising “Easter egg” in the document was a US demand for the International Development Finance Corporation to assume control of a natural gas pipeline that transports Russian gas across Ukraine to European markets.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the ongoing talks earlier this week, stating that any minerals agreement should benefit both nations and potentially help modernize Ukraine, as reported by Reuters.

FT: Ukraine’s officials call US minerals deal “robbery” as Washington expands demands

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