Ukraine eager to finalise long-awaited mineral deal with US despite Trump-Zelensky clash

WASHINGTON: Ukraine is pushing to wrap up a long-awaited minerals deal with the United States, even though tensions between President Trump and President Zelensky have slowed progress.

Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko said Ukrainian officials are working hard to get the agreement signed quickly, despite some unresolved issues and delays following a heated exchange between the two leaders earlier this year.

Marchenko and other Ukrainian officials met with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday to discuss the deal and ongoing questions about Russian assets frozen and held by the West since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The two countries signed a memorandum a week ago as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on expanding economic cooperation, including through the development of mineral resources in Ukraine, that has proven elusive.

US President Donald Trump has promoted the deal since starting his second term in January. Both sides had been set to sign a deal on natural resources in February, but it was delayed – and has since been revised – after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned into a shouting match.

Trump said last week he expected the deal to be signed on Thursday, but Marchenko said he did not expect a signing this week, although he and senior Ukrainian officials, including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, are in Washington for the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

“There was progress and now our teams are working very closely together,” Marchenko said after an event hosted by the Ukrainian embassy. “There are still some questions which we are discussing,” he said, without giving any details.

“We are working as fast as we can to sign the deal,” he told Reuters later in the day, though he offered no specific timetable for finalising an agreement.

He said the talks were continuing despite Russia’s attacks on Kyiv overnight, saying the two issues were unrelated.

The Treasury on Thursday confirmed the meeting with Ukrainian officials and emphasised the need to sign the economic partnership between the two countries as soon as possible.

Trump is pushing for a compact that gives the United States privileged access to Ukraine’s natural resources and critical minerals, which he frames as repayment for military aid provided under former President Joe Biden.

Washington has said it will withdraw from efforts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine unless there are clear signs of progress soon.

Marchenko also said Bessent wants the issue of frozen Russian assets – which Kyiv says should be handed over to Ukraine to cover war damages and losses – to be included in broader discussions.