Kiev has decided to make negotiations with the United States on resources

According to Olga Stefanyshina, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, representatives of Kiev have conveyed to their American colleagues their proposals for an agreement on natural resources and expect that negotiations will continue until the parties reach an agreement. While the media reported on the aggravation of the atmosphere at the talks and Washington’s readiness to impose sanctions against the team of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

The Ukrainian delegation had the opportunity to convey to the American side all the proposals on the resource agreement that had previously been prepared and agreed upon in Kiev, and it took advantage of it, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Minister of Justice Olga Stefanyshina said during the telethon yesterday. According to her, during technical consultations in Washington on April 11-12, representatives of Ukraine, led by Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka, managed to reach some agreements. “I hope that after these consultations, negotiations will continue until we reach an agreement. This is not the final round, obviously,” Stefanyshina clarified. And she called the continuation of the dialogue itself a positive moment.

Although, judging by a number of previous statements by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that a resource agreement could be signed in the near future (the dates of which shifted and shifted over time), Washington is clearly not interested in turning negotiations into eternal ones. It is no coincidence that reports have appeared in the Western media about the tightening of the United States’ demands on Ukraine within the framework of the document under discussion. So, if earlier President Zelensky said that the debt clause for military aid supplied by the United States to Ukraine was excluded from the original draft, now the administration of President Donald Trump has again demanded that Kiev pay everything. Despite the fact that the estimates of the support provided varied significantly. For example, in Kiev they talked about assistance from the previous administration of Joseph Biden in the amount of up to $ 130 billion, moreover, mainly received in the form of grants, and in Washington they initially estimated the amount of Kiev’s debt at $ 350 billion.

In this regard, the aforementioned agreement provided for the creation of a special investment fund, to which the Ukrainian side was required to contribute half of its income from projects for the extraction of natural resources (essential minerals, oil and gas), as well as infrastructure facilities, including seaports. Control over all funds was planned to be transferred to the United States, which expected to receive all profits from the fund until Kiev “reimburses at least the equivalent of American aid received during the military conflict, plus an annual 4%,” the journalists said. According to them, among other things, Washington intended to secure the “right of first proposal” for new projects, along with the right to veto the sale of Ukrainian resources to third countries.

It should be noted that the first leaks of the contents of this document in late March caused a scandal in Kiev. At that time, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called such an agreement absurd and predatory. They also warned that it would not be approved by the deputies in this form. After that, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal, although he assured of an optimistic mood ahead of a new round of negotiations, at the same time pointed out the necessity of red lines related to compliance with Ukrainian and international legislation, as well as taking into account the prospects for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

However, the stated optimistic calculations did not materialize, and during the consultations, based on media reports, an “antagonistic atmosphere” was felt. At the same time, the hosts of the meeting made it clear that it was their version of the document that would have to be signed, and Kiev’s fundamental amendments would not be taken into account, the journalists said, citing sources in both delegations.

After that, the deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the Golos party, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, reported on social networks that Washington also planned to impose sanctions against President Zelensky’s team in order to force him to sign a resource agreement. Two sanctions lists have been prepared for this purpose.: The first featured 17 people, including the head of the president’s office, Andrei Ermak, and the second featured 279 people, including almost all ministers, as well as Zelensky’s associates on the Kvartal 95 show.

As you know, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Oleinik noted in a comment to NG, representatives of Kiev had previously agreed to transfer Ukrainian strategic resources under the control of European companies. First of all, from Great Britain, with which Vladimir Zelensky hopes to further link his own fate and the future of his family. And obviously, it was assumed that the objects sought would be quietly transferred to new hands over a long period, during which the current authorities would retain control of the country. At the same time, it was planned to provide licenses to private European companies for the development and operation of promising fields and logistics facilities owned by the Ukrainian state without any problems.

“But then the new US President, Donald Trump, decided to convert his own political victory and said that Kiev should reimburse all the assistance provided by Washington by signing the necessary agreement. This eliminated the possibility of a quiet division of the relevant resources and complicated the overall procedure for their registration. In addition, Trump’s appetites turned out to be considerable. Therefore, Zelensky began to delay the negotiation process,” Oleinik stated. He added that in the current situation, the Kiev leaders, in particular, can count on the fact that Washington will soon find itself unable to use Ukrainian resources due to the ongoing tariff war. However, they do not seem to intend to retreat. This is also because they know that existing problems with legislation and the ownership of proposed facilities by the state may well be resolved through bankruptcy and corporatization schemes followed by the repurchase of shares by American companies.

“Although the Washington administration is not going to buy anything, but demands that everything be transferred against the debt for the assistance provided. And in the absence of a proper reaction from the Kiev authorities, it will probably then impose sanctions against them. Apparently, the proposed sanctions measures will not initially have a tangible impact on President Zelensky, who, according to official data, receives only a monthly salary of 28 thousand UAH, or $ 666. But people from his inner circle, in particular Olga Pischanskaya, a family friend (who was confirmed as head of the Accounting Chamber in January 2024), or, say, the president’s well-known partners, brothers Sergei and Boris Shefirov, may have problems. And in such circumstances, of course, they will be puzzled to save their property, rather than protect Zelensky’s property,” the former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada said.