On March 27, Bloomberg and the Financial Times (FT) published details of a new draft mineral agreement between Ukraine and the United States, which U.S. authorities handed to Kyiv on March 23, Meduza reported on March 28.
The information provided by the media about the new draft prepared by the U.S. largely matches the details shared earlier on March 27 by Ukrainian parliamentarian Yaroslav Zheleznyak, who revealed some details about the 58-page draft.
According to the FT and Bloomberg, the U.S. draft proposes the following:
- The agreement will apply to all natural resources, including oil and gas, throughout the entire territory of Ukraine.
- The U.S. will have control over investments in infrastructure related to the exploitation of natural resources, including roads, railways, ports, mines, and processing plants.
- The U.S. will have the right to first demand profits to be transferred into a special investment fund, which will distribute the income between the two countries.
- The U.S. considers "material and financial benefits" provided to Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 as its contribution to the fund.
- Ukraine will be required to allocate 50% of the income from all new natural resource and infrastructure projects to the fund. The U.S. will have the right to all profits plus 4% annual interest until U.S. investments are fully repaid. All funds will immediately be converted into foreign currency and transferred abroad, and Ukraine will be obligated to compensate for delays or disputes.
- The investment fund will be controlled by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Control will be exercised through a supervisory board, with DFC able to appoint three of five members, while Ukraine can appoint the remaining two. DFC will have the right to block decisions. Ukraine will not be able to intervene in the management of the fund.
- The U.S. will have priority rights for infrastructure projects. Ukraine will be required to present all projects to the fund "as soon as possible," and DFC will oversee all financed programs. Ukraine will not be able to offer rejected projects to other parties on "substantially better terms" for at least one year.
- U.S. authorities will have the right to purchase Ukraine's metals, minerals, oil, and gas earlier than other parties under commercial terms, regardless of whether the fund finances the project. The U.S. will have veto power over the sale of resources to other countries.
- The agreement, which has no set timeframe, prohibits Kyiv from selling critical natural resources to "strategic competitors" of the U.S.
The new U.S. draft does not offer any security guarantees to Kyiv, according to the Financial Times.
As Bloomberg notes, discussions between the U.S. and Ukraine are ongoing, and the final draft may change. Ukraine is likely to prepare amendments this week, that is, before March 30, according to a source from the agency.
The U.S. expects the agreement to be signed in the coming days. However, Kyiv remains skeptical.
High-ranking Ukrainian officials have stated that the U.S. proposal could undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and increase the country's dependence on Washington. Officials are concerned that the U.S. may add provisions about nuclear power plants to the agreement during negotiations, although this is not mentioned in the current draft.
