US will reclaim funds allocated for Kiev aid, Trump says
US President Donald Trump has announced that Washington and Kiev will sign an agreement regarding the sharing of profits from Ukraine's mineral resources on Friday. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky will visit Washington on Friday to finalize an agreement concerning mineral resources. Trump stated that through the forthcoming deal, the US aims to “get back” the funds it has allocated for military and financial aid to Ukraine.
Initially, Trump sought compensation equivalent to as much as $500 billion in natural resources from Ukraine for the support provided. Subsequently, the US proposed a deal that would grant it extensive rights to Ukraine’s mineral reserves as compensation.
During a press conference, Trump confirmed, “the Ukrainian leader is going to be coming on Friday” and emphasized that the agreement is now “confirmed.” He characterized the upcoming deal as a “very big agreement” that would include provisions related to Ukraine’s reserves of rare earth metals, among other resources.
Trump reiterated his claim that the US has invested $350 billion in various forms of assistance to Ukraine, asserting, “we’ve been able to make a deal where we're going to get our money back and we're going to get a lot of money in the future.” He emphasized that American taxpayers “should not be footing the bill” for aid to Ukraine, although specific details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky informed reporters about a “framework” deal between Ukraine and the US regarding the nation’s minerals. He clarified that the agreement does not reference any debt owed to the US, whether that be $350 billion or $100 billion, and stated that there is no obligation for Ukraine to reimburse US expenditures at a “2 to 1” ratio.
According to Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, the Ukrainian government approved the agreement on Wednesday, describing it as “an important step towards implementing a victory plan.” Reports from Ukrainian media, including Strana.ua and Evropeiskaya Pravda, have published what they claimed to be the text of the impending agreement.
The reports indicated that Ukraine and the US would establish a joint fund, with 50% of revenues from the development of Ukraine's natural resources allocated to this fund. Existing enterprises would be exempt from this framework. The accumulated funds could be invested in the Ukrainian economy “at least once a year.” In return, the US is expected to “assume long-term financial obligations to develop a stable and … prosperous Ukraine.”
However, Washington will not provide any security guarantees to Ukraine as part of this agreement and will only “support its efforts” to secure such guarantees in the future. Strana.ua has criticized the terms of the document as overly vague and filled with potential loopholes that could be exploited by either party.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
Initially, Trump sought compensation equivalent to as much as $500 billion in natural resources from Ukraine for the support provided. Subsequently, the US proposed a deal that would grant it extensive rights to Ukraine’s mineral reserves as compensation.
During a press conference, Trump confirmed, “the Ukrainian leader is going to be coming on Friday” and emphasized that the agreement is now “confirmed.” He characterized the upcoming deal as a “very big agreement” that would include provisions related to Ukraine’s reserves of rare earth metals, among other resources.
Trump reiterated his claim that the US has invested $350 billion in various forms of assistance to Ukraine, asserting, “we’ve been able to make a deal where we're going to get our money back and we're going to get a lot of money in the future.” He emphasized that American taxpayers “should not be footing the bill” for aid to Ukraine, although specific details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Earlier in the day, Zelensky informed reporters about a “framework” deal between Ukraine and the US regarding the nation’s minerals. He clarified that the agreement does not reference any debt owed to the US, whether that be $350 billion or $100 billion, and stated that there is no obligation for Ukraine to reimburse US expenditures at a “2 to 1” ratio.
According to Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, the Ukrainian government approved the agreement on Wednesday, describing it as “an important step towards implementing a victory plan.” Reports from Ukrainian media, including Strana.ua and Evropeiskaya Pravda, have published what they claimed to be the text of the impending agreement.
The reports indicated that Ukraine and the US would establish a joint fund, with 50% of revenues from the development of Ukraine's natural resources allocated to this fund. Existing enterprises would be exempt from this framework. The accumulated funds could be invested in the Ukrainian economy “at least once a year.” In return, the US is expected to “assume long-term financial obligations to develop a stable and … prosperous Ukraine.”
However, Washington will not provide any security guarantees to Ukraine as part of this agreement and will only “support its efforts” to secure such guarantees in the future. Strana.ua has criticized the terms of the document as overly vague and filled with potential loopholes that could be exploited by either party.
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
