After a long struggle they have Ukraine and the United States signed a declaration of intent to conclude a raw material agreement. This was announced by the Ukrainian Minister of Economic Affairs and Vice Government Officer Julia Swryrydenko on Thursday evening on Facebook. “Today a step towards a common economic partnership agreement was taken with the United States,” she said. The text of the raw material agreement itself, with which the United States is to be accessed to rare earths and other valuable resources from Ukraine, still had to be completed.
US President Donald Trump has announced the signing for next week. According to Swrydenkos, the document must also be ratified by the parliaments after signing. “We are preparing the foundation of the fund for investments in the reconstruction of Ukraine,” she said. The agreement enables significant investments, the modernization of the infrastructure and a partnership that is advantageous for both sides. It is an investment in the future for free, sovereign and safe Ukraine.
Selenskyj had announced intermediate step
Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj had previously announced the memorandum as an intermediate step to the raw material agreement. Lawyers would continue to work on the actual binding raw material agreement.
At the end of February, the signing of a vague framework agreement for jointly reducing raw materials after a dispute between Trump and Selenskyj in Washington failed. Trump has been pushing Kyiv for a long time to conclude a raw material contract. The profits, among other things, from the reduction of metals in the group of rare earths should USA serve as compensation for military aids that have already been granted to the country attacked by Russia.
Ukraine has been fighting against the Russian invasion with western help for more than three years.
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