Ukrainian team to visit Washington for draft mineral deal talks

Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, shared the information in an interview with the Associated Press.

According to her, Ukraine now needs to assemble a technical team for negotiations, define its red lines and core principles, and send a delegation to Washington next week.

"The new draft agreement from the U.S. shows that the intention to create a fund or jointly invest remains… What we have now is a document that reflects the position of the U.S. Treasury legal team. This is not a final version, it’s not a joint position," Svyrydenko said.

The delegation will include representatives from the ministries of economy, foreign affairs, justice, and finance.

“It’s clear that the full parameters of this agreement can’t be discussed online. We need to sit down with the teams and continue the conversation in person. This marks a new stage in relations with the United States — one that requires expertise across multiple areas. Ultimately, everything will be decided through the course of negotiations,” Yulia Svyrydenko stated.

Minerals deal: background

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Thursday, March 27, that the U.S. has proposed signing a full agreement on minerals instead of a framework agreement.

On March 28, media reports surfaced that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had reinstated a condition in the minerals agreement requiring Ukraine to reimburse all U.S. aid provided since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

During the government Q&A hour in the Verkhovna Rada on March 28, Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed that the government had received a draft minerals agreement from the U.S. and was working on forming its position.

Later, Zelenskyy commented on the new U.S. draft agreement on Ukrainian rare earth minerals, stating that it contained provisions both sides had previously rejected.

On March 31, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the Ukrainian leader was looking to back out of the minerals deal. On the same day, Ukrainian and American officials held their first in-depth discussion on the U.S.-proposed draft agreement on rare earth minerals.

On April 4, Zelenskyy stated that next week, lawyers would present him with the key points of the Ukrainian draft agreement on rare earth minerals with the U.S.