Kiev points to the EU’s demands to abandon the resource deal with the United States

The subsoil agreement with the United States should not contradict the conditions of Ukraine’s future accession to the EU, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. He informed about the upcoming consultations with the delegations of the general staffs of European countries on sending contingents to the Ukrainian territory. Perhaps the Kiev authorities are using references to the European factor to refuse to sign the agreement with the United States in its current form.

Apparently, Kiev has found a way out of the conflict with the resource agreement proposed by US President Donald Trump, according to which American companies were provided with control not only over Ukrainian mineral deposits, but also over infrastructure facilities, including seaports. The Ukrainians have decided to use the “European formula” to reject the agreement, which has expanded from the preliminary four pages to almost 60. And if the other day Zelensky referred to the need to comply with the Ukrainian Constitution and the fact that an almost new and significantly expanded version of the document was received from American partners, now he warned that the agreement with the United States should not interfere with Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

The new version of the agreement was received through diplomatic channels from the United States to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on March 28. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sibiga clarified that Kiev is set to sign a document that would meet the national interests of both countries. The conclusion of an agreement providing for the presence of a powerful American business in Ukraine will be a contribution to its security infrastructure, Sibiga assured. Thus, the official recalled Trump’s relevant assurances.

Zelensky pointed out that the new draft document says nothing about NATO and other forms of security guarantees for Ukraine. At the same time, the president stressed that the agreement could not serve as a recognition of debt for previous US military assistance to Kiev, although he did not rule out the possibility of appropriate conditions regarding future American support.

He was helped to develop the topic of security guarantees by an active discussion of plans to send military contingents from a number of European countries to Ukrainian territory. As the Ukrainian president said in another video message, on Friday in Kiev will meet the delegations of the general staffs of those European states that at the summit of the “coalition of the willing” in Paris on March 27 expressed their readiness to deploy their troops in Ukraine. “We will work on the prepared proposals of the Ukrainian side. And we need a common approach for everyone in Europe, which means common solutions,” Zelensky said.

According to local analysts, during the planned consultations, in particular, it is planned to determine the likely number, composition, and future locations of foreign contingents. At the same time, the media also mentioned that back in mid-March, Britain was informed of its readiness to send 10,000 troops to Ukraine and that on March 31, Zelensky discussed this issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It is significant that in his comments Zelensky also noted that although Washington did not say anything about the presence of its own ground contingent in Ukraine after the end of the military conflict, he would not rule out such a possibility. In addition, he called on the United States to “totally close” the Ukrainian sky with Patriot systems.

In a comment for NG, Stanislav Tkachenko, professor of the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University (St. Petersburg State University), doubted that units from European countries would be able to appear on the territory of Ukraine. If London and Paris openly send their units before the end of hostilities, they will become a legitimate military target for the Russian Armed Forces. And then it will be difficult for the British and French authorities to explain the reports of a sharp increase in the number of dead soldiers in the conflict zone. Therefore, European leaders would like to enlist the support of their plans from the United States. It is pointless to talk about this idea without active American participation, since European countries do not have enough weapons and manpower. “But at the same time, the head of the White House, Donald Trump, apparently intends to exchange for access to Ukrainian natural resources what he calls Washington’s good attitude towards Ukraine. Whereas in Kiev, they demand Ukraine’s accession to NATO or the conclusion of some kind of agreement on security guarantees. But Trump does not want to sign anything and says that the presence of American business will serve as protection for the Ukrainian side. However, Zelensky believes that this is not protection, since Russia has launched a special military operation in those regions where Western investors were present. It is obvious that the Ukrainian authorities expected to cede their natural resources for something more tangible,” Tkachenko explained.

“According to the Constitution of Ukraine, no one has the right to transfer its mineral resources to any other state. Zelensky probably started this whole story with rare earths and minerals in order to maintain Trump’s interest in his country. And practically he is not going to sign anything, which should now be helped by a reference to the requirements of the European Union,” the expert concluded.