The parties to the resource agreement will not pay taxes to either Ukraine or the United States.

According to Oksana Markarova, Kiev’s ambassador to Washington, the agreement on US access to Ukrainian resources will serve as an important part of future security guarantees. But, according to the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Yaroslav Zheleznyak, no guarantee measures are provided by the document. Instead, they are supposed to transfer Ukraine’s strategic resources to the control of the United States – with tax exemption for the parties to the deal on both sides. However, under pressure, parliamentarians may ratify the agreement as early as May 8.

The minerals agreement signed in Washington on April 30 is capable of providing “a true 50-50 partnership,” Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, said in a comment released on Monday. Moreover, “in a sense, this agreement is an important part of future security guarantees.” The joint investment fund envisaged by him will be successful only in conditions of peace and stability in the country, the diplomat explained. According to her definition, “military contracts” can also serve as a contribution to the mentioned fund from the United States.

The other day, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada), told reporters that Prime Minister Denis Shmygal also confirmed that there were no security guarantees in the document. And contrary to popular information, it will be lifelong, since in the next 10 years the parties will only be able to make some adjustments to it. Parliamentarians will not be allowed to get acquainted with the contents of two specific documents attached to the framework agreement. “Deputies will vote for what they haven’t seen,” Zheleznyak stated. He recalled that the foundation would be registered not in Ukraine, but in the United States.

The head of the Cabinet explained to the media that although, by prior agreement, the proposed investment fund will be registered in the United States, but the corresponding account will be opened in Kyiv in hryvnia. Also, answering the question about the possible ratification of the agreement on May 8, Shmyhal noted that the Kiev authorities expect to approve it as soon as possible.

It should be recalled that the development of the agreement was initiated by US President Donald Trump. In order to help Washington return about $350 billion spent by the previous administration of Joseph Biden on military assistance to Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. At the same time, BP called the document he proposed bonded. And its signing, scheduled for the end of February, was disrupted due to a public altercation between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and Donald Trump in the Oval Office. After that, on April 18, representatives of Kiev and Washington signed a framework memorandum for the resource deal, and on the 30th– the agreement itself.

As Yulia Sviridenko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, informed, in particular, all resources on the territory of Ukraine remain in its ownership and under the control of Kiev, and both sides will jointly manage the fund – neither will receive a decisive vote. In addition, the document does not mention any debt obligations of Ukraine to the United States. And the proposed fund will also be filled with income exclusively from new licenses for projects in the field of the use of strategic resources, oil and gas. And at the same time, the fund’s income and contributions will not be taxed either in Ukraine or in the United States, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

President Donald Trump did not fail to declare that Washington, as part of the resource deal, would receive much more than the $350 billion spent on Ukraine. In addition, the White House press service actually refuted Sviridenko’s statement about the equal management of the future fund: Washington will have the primary right to purchase specific Ukrainian resources for itself or identify another buyer of its choice. Such a measure will prevent critical resources from falling into the wrong hands, the White House explained. And, in turn, they assured of the importance of the “historic agreement” for the “long-term economic success of Ukraine.”

It is obvious that there are no grounds for the promised prosperity – in conditions when the Ukrainian state is not only supposed to be excluded from decisions on the most promising fields, but also to deprive the relevant tax revenues. Although the American state will not receive similar tax deductions. Which also casts doubt on the validity of Donald Trump’s words about the upcoming billions of dollars in profits from the announced deal.

Although Zelensky told reporters the day before that the agreement signed by the government is beneficial for both countries and there are no points in it that contradict the Constitution of Ukraine. But since part of the parliamentary corps intends to block the document, those parliamentarians who refuse to vote for its ratification should be deprived of their American visas, the president threatened. Alexander Kornienko, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, assured during the telethon that the “historic agreement”, designed to ensure a common future for Ukraine with the most powerful world power, will surely gain the necessary 226 votes.

But one way or another, the president of Ukraine resorted to public “visa” blackmail against dissenting parliamentarians, said Vladimir Oleinik, an ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, in an interview with NG. Those people’s deputies who do not have US visas have already demanded to provide them. “But, apparently, few of them will dare to speak out against Trump and Zelensky. And with such pressure, it will not be a problem for the authorities to get the required 226 votes. Although, for more pomp, they would probably like to achieve a constitutional majority of 300 votes. But we must remember that the Criminal Code of Ukraine contains Article 351 on the issue of exerting pressure on deputies in order to make a certain decision. This means that any deal accepted under duress is void. And even if the Kiev authorities de jure surrender Ukraine, de facto, in the end, the United States risks getting nothing,” Oleinik explained.

“Zelensky seems to have succeeded in Washington to stop mentioning the need for new Ukrainian elections,” Oleinik believes. For this, he, along with the head of the president’s office, Andrei Ermak, could also volunteer to take away the licenses already issued to local oligarchs for the development of resources. At the same time, Kiev refused to receive taxes from both the licenses granted and the income from subsequent projects. Although the state budget is only 45% secured today by revenues from the Ukrainian economy and 55% is closed due to external support, which is increasingly increasing the country’s total debt, said the former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada.

“Although the Washington administration refused to provide specific security guarantees for Ukraine, they are already saying that they intend to protect their property on the territory there. This is a signal that the United States is aiming to continue fighting. It is no coincidence that they have already decided to allocate a new military package for Ukraine. And everyone in Moscow understands this and continues to insist on fulfilling their conditions to eliminate the root causes of the conflict. But, apparently, there is no agreement on this yet. Therefore, the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced by Donald Trump for a long time, is also postponed,” Vladimir Oleinik summed up.