Ukraine Wins Back Trump's Favor with Fossil Deal - Bloomberg
Date: 2025-05-01 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WORLD
Ukraine has won back US President Donald Trump's favor by signing a natural resources agreement, Bloomberg reports.
This strategic agreement gives Washington priority access to Ukraine's natural resources, including aluminum, graphite, oil, and gas. The document was signed after weeks of tense negotiations. It was a breakthrough in relations between the Trump administration and Kiev.
After the failure of his February visit to Washington, when Volodymyr Zelensky left the US capital without an agreement following a standoff in the Oval Office, the new agreement symbolizes Trump's restoration of trust in Kyiv.
"I told him it would be a very good thing if we could make an agreement that he would sign," Trump said of his meeting with Zelensky during the funeral of Pope Francis.
Trump personally announced the agreement:
"We have an agreement that will keep our money safe, that will allow us to start mining and do what we need to do... It's also good for them because we will have an American presence on the ground, and that presence will prevent a lot of bad actors from getting into the country or certainly into the area where we are mining."
According to the agreement, the United States will have first dibs on the revenues from the projects, and half of the revenues will go to a special fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine. This fund will also partially offset future American military aid.
"This agreement sends a clear signal to Russia that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process focused on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine for the long term... And to be clear, no nation or person that has financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed on social media: "Together with the United States, we are creating a Fund that will attract global investment to our country."
She added that the agreement "reaffirms the commitment of the United States of America to the security, restoration and reconstruction of Ukraine."
While the agreement does not contain security guarantees, it relieves some of the tension between the countries. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the United States has dropped its demand for the return of aid already provided, which was previously voiced as a demand for $500 billion in minerals.
The agreement also allowed the resumption of intelligence sharing, which was suspended in February.
"Any positive step, anything that helps maintain U.S. engagement is worth taking," said Charles Litchfield of the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center.
However, difficult peace talks lie ahead. Trump's special representative Steve Witkoff met with Putin, but no agreement has been reached. The White House acknowledges Trump's frustration with both Ukraine and Russia over the failure of a promised quick cease-fire.
"Trump has threatened to walk away from the talks if there is no progress on a cease-fire, raising concerns among Ukraine's allies about the extent to which Kyiv could be blamed for the talks' failure. The resources deal appears to put Zelensky and Ukraine back in Trump's good graces, at least for now," the publication concluded.
