Ukraine Finally Agrees To Hand Over Mineral Resources Wealth To The United States

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy/screenshot via Instagram @zelenskyy_official

JAKARTA - Ukraine says it has reached an "initiation" agreement to hand over revenue from some of its mineral resources to the United States.

The agreement came before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Washington on Friday.

The deal is important for Ukraine's efforts to ensure strong support from US President Donald Trump as he seeks to end Russia's war in Ukraine quickly.

Meanwhile, the US-Russian negotiations that so far do not involve Kyiv will resume on Thursday.

"The main thing for me is that we are not debtors. There is no debt of $500 billion in the agreement, or $350, or $100 billion because it is unfair," Zelenskyy told a news conference on the agreement.

Trump considers the deal a billions of dollars in aid payments to Kyiv during the war.

Zelenskyy has asked for security guarantees in return for the mineral rights, but it is unclear whether the demands were successful.

"This agreement is part of our larger agreement with the United States. This agreement can be part of security guarantees in the future of the agreement remains an agreement, but we need to understand a wider vision," Zelenskyy said.

"This agreement can be a big success or it could happen secretly. Great success depends on our talks with President Trump," he continued.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal said Washington would commit to supporting Kyiv's efforts to secure security under the final agreement. But America did not give their own security promises.

While discussions over mineral deals have taken place, Washington and Moscow have started bilateral talks.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday's talks in Istanbul would discuss a settlement of bilateral disputes that are part of a broader dialogue that both sides deem important to end Ukraine's war.

Earlier, Trump told reporters on Tuesday Zelenskyy wanted to come to Washington on Friday to sign a "very big deal".

The Ukrainian government will pass the agreed words on Wednesday so they can be signed.

A copy of the draft agreement, seen by Reuters and dated February 25, reads: "The United States government supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain the security guarantees needed to build lasting peace."