How far is the raw material deal between the USA and Ukraine? According to the US information, signing should already take place on Friday, but the Ukrainian president dampens expectations.
After initial reports on an almost completely drawn up agreement between the USA and Ukraine to reduce raw materials, Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj dampens expectations. “It is still too early to talk about money, because that's a framework agreement,” said the head of state, according to the Ukrainian media. The actual contract should only follow later. “This becomes more difficult and serious, because the next contract is about the fund,” he continued.
In the possible actual contract, business relationships and the financial aspects of the agreement would still have to be precisely regulated, said Selenskyj. “And this next contract must first be ratified in the Ukraine parliament.” The agreement is “part of our larger agreements with the USA. It could be part of future security guarantees,” explained the president. It is initially important for him that Ukraine does not become a debtor from the United States through the agreement. “Because that would be unfair.”
Trump: Contract signing Already on Friday
It is not yet clear when exactly both parties will seal the contract in its current form. According to US President Donald Trump, Selenskyj will sign an agreement in Washington on Friday. It is about rare earths “and other things,” said the Republican on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in the White House and said: “We need rare earth very urgently. They have great rare earth.”
Trump had already indicated Selenskyj's visit the day before, but he then said that a trip to the USA had not yet been coordinated. Now Trump said to the meeting in Washington: “That is now confirmed.”
Point of dispute Security guarantees
The agreement is considered central to the Ukrainian efforts to secure further support from the United States in their defense struggle of the Russian war of aggression. Trump strives for a quick end of the war. For this purpose, US Russian discussions are to be continued in Istanbul on Thursday, from which Ukraine and Europe have so far been excluded. Trump himself represents the agreement with Ukraine as a kind of repayment of the US billion aids. In return, Selenskyj calls for security guarantees for raw material rights. It is unclear whether the United States grant them.
The Ukrainian head of government Denys Schmyhal said that the government in Washington would commit itself to supporting Kiev efforts to support security guarantees in the final agreement. So far, however, the United States has not made its own security commitments. Rather, Trump sees the Europeans as a duty here: “I will not give any extensive security guarantees. Europe should do that.” However, the Europeans argue that security guarantees would not be sufficient after the end of the war without securing the United States to prevent Russia from attacking the Ukraine.
Russia rejected a statement on the raw material agreement. Take the relevant reports, also about a visit to Selenskyj in Washington, said the spokesman for the Presidential Office in Moscow, Dmitri Peskow. “We will see whether it will be the agreement mentioned or something else. There are no official statements on this matter yet,” said Peskow. “The Americans need metals of rare earths, we have a lot of them,” he added.
Worries in the EU
In the EU, developments are seen with concern. Experts in Brussels fear that a bad deal with the United States could lead to institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have to limit or even stop lending to the Ukraine dependent on financial aid. The background is that the deal forced by Trump, depending on the design, would negatively influence the income of Ukraine and thus also their creditworthiness.
The effects on the EU accession process of Ukraine could also be dramatic, since only economically and financially stable states have an opportunity for recording. You have to take a closer look at what would be signed, it said in Brussels. Ideally, the final agreement is not as bad as it suggested earlier designs.
