The resource agreement with the United States will now cost Kiev more

In an address to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, the leadership of the Ukrainian parliament thanked for the assistance provided to Kiev and assured that Ukrainians, like no one else, strive for peace. At the same time, representatives of the American administration allowed the possibility of resuming the dialogue between the parties after the recent scandalous skirmish at the highest level if the Ukrainian leader calls Washington and details his participation in a peaceful settlement. Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, also said that he had agreed with the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak, on the possibility of returning to the rails of the agreement on Ukrainian resources. Although now the launch of this “train” will turn out to be more expensive for Kiev, experts suggested.

The published appeal of the leadership of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (Verkhovna Rada) to the President of the United States Donald Trump, Congress and the American people noted the “crucial importance” of the US contribution to support Ukraine during the most difficult periods of its history. In this regard, gratitude was expressed for the military assistance provided, among other things. The document also stated that Ukrainians “strive for peace like no other in the world,” and at the same time welcomed President Trump’s initiatives aimed at ensuring a peaceful settlement. In addition, BP stressed the need to further develop a strategic partnership with Washington in the field of exploration of critically important minerals.

At the same time, the Kiev journalists who quoted this appeal recalled that on February 28, the Ukrainian and American leaders quarreled during a meeting at the White House. As a result, President Volodymyr Zelensky was forced to leave early and did not sign an agreement with the United States on minerals. While Washington announced that it was “not ready for peace,” and then notified of the suspension of all military assistance to Ukraine. Among other things, other similar reports clarified that following the results of the aforementioned meeting, Donald Trump accused Vladimir Zelensky of ingratitude. Although, according to Kiev media estimates, the President of Ukraine has publicly expressed gratitude 94 times for the help of the United States since the beginning of a large-scale military conflict with Russia in February 2022.

Zelensky himself said in another video message that he had gathered the Headquarters to discuss possible scenarios for the further development of events. In particular, he noted the successful implementation of agreements with foreign partners on the supply of artillery, drones and air defense systems, as well as financial support to meet the country’s needs in 2025. At the same time, the basic scenario provides for “creating conditions for effective diplomacy in order to achieve a decent peace as soon as possible,” as well as providing appropriate guarantees, Zelensky added.

It is noteworthy that along with conciliatory statements in Kiev, they also continued to voice other kinds of assessments. For example, as noted in a comment published on Tuesday by Valery Pekar, a lecturer at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, Ukraine prevented the new American administration from making Europe defenseless and, moreover, did not allow Russia to be strengthened in order to deploy it against China. And in such circumstances, all the pressure can be directed at someone who looks more suitable for this. Hence, the task for the Ukrainian side is to prove that it is the least suitable for pressure and cannot give in, the business school teacher specified. And he warned that in the next few weeks there will be a powerful information attack on Ukraine from the United States.

It is significant that over the past 24 hours, many representatives of the Washington administration have spoken out on the Ukrainian issue, while simultaneously mentioning the agreement on natural resources of Ukraine. So, the day before, US President Donald Trump reacted on social networks to the words of the Ukrainian leader that the end of the military conflict with the Russian Federation was “very, very far away,” and called it “the worst statement Zelensky could make.” Although, in an interview with reporters, he also stressed that he did not consider the announcement between the United States and Ukraine on rare earth metals and minerals to be “dead.” And he hinted at possible news in this regard in his upcoming speech to Congress. While US Vice President Jay Dee Vance noted in an interview that if the Ukrainian leader calls and makes a serious offer about his own participation in a peaceful settlement, negotiations initiated by the head of the White House can continue in Washington. According to him, the best way to protect Ukraine is to guarantee the financial interest of the United States in its future. That’s “a better guarantee of security than 20,000 soldiers from some random country,” Vance said. In turn, Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the US House of Representatives, reported on the progress made on the issue of the aforementioned agreement during a conversation with the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Ermak. “We are 100% returning this train to the rails. This agreement will be signed in the near future, which will lead to a strong long–term economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine,” the congressman stated.

Sooner or later, Americans will have access to Ukrainian minerals in one form or another, Evgeny Semibratov, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts at the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), confirmed to NG. From this point of view, in his opinion, the appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was also intended to help President Zelensky, who, to put it mildly, got into a very awkward position. BP’s similar appeal paved the way for Kiev’s next steps, where, among other things, the jingoistic electorate became more active, inspired by how the Ukrainian leader “put American President Trump in his place.” Although it is possible that both sides were interested in a conflicting outcome of the negotiations at the White House. So, Donald Trump, perhaps, was not averse to demonstrating the inadequacy of the Ukrainian guest to the American public. And Zelensky himself could have deliberately gone into conflict because he had long promised the most delicious Ukrainian deposits to Britain, whose project many analysts consider him to be. And now he is unlikely to be able to immediately play back and meet Washington halfway in order to save face not only in front of supporters inside the country, but also in front of European leaders who recently announced in London that they would continue to support Kiev. According to Western experts, taking into account the weapons already supplied, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are able to hold out for another 3-6 months, Semibratov recalled.

“The situation may also be complicated by the fact that Donald Trump will probably need a public apology from the Ukrainian president. Moreover, it is possible that on the second attempt, the Americans will present tougher conditions under the resource agreement. And if, at Kiev’s insistence, they removed the indication of the amount of Ukrainian debt in 500 or 300 billion dollars from the original version, now they can register it again. As a result, this will result in additional financial losses for the Ukrainian side,” explained the deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the Rudn University.