Cannot be signed and cannot be executed – Yatsenyuk on minerals agreement

He said this during a broadcast on Espreso.

"We’ve reached a point where the American administration has sent something unbelievable. It’s already been published in the Financial Times and other outlets. It’s unbelievable in the sense that I can’t explain it — economically, politically, legally, or ideologically. This isn’t even about colonizing Ukraine — the colonization of Ukraine, at least, would follow different standards. This agreement is a trap for Ukraine. If President Zelenskyy signs it as it was published, it leads to political backlash at home — statements, pushback, even from inside the government — saying this agreement is unacceptable, and it risks destabilizing the country. If President Zelenskyy doesn’t sign it, then the American administration turns around and says: ‘Look, we really tried to help Ukraine. We don’t sleep at night. And they won’t cooperate, they’re turning us down,’” he said.

Yatsenyuk noted that agreements are meant to be implemented — but this one, he says, can't be. He also doubts it can even be ratified.

"This agreement, in its current form, clearly cannot be signed. Agreements are signed to be carried out — this one can’t be. I doubt it can even be ratified. And even if it were, then it should include security guarantees, something that’s completely missing. If we were to ratify it, there would be at least some logic in going to the U.S. Congress and saying, ‘We ratified it on our side — now you ratify it too.’ They won’t send troops, of course. But at least sign something similar to what you gave Israel. Israel has a 10-year agreement, ratified by Congress, they get around $3 billion annually without U.S. troops on the ground. That’s just one example of what we could push for," the former prime minister said.

He believes the situation around this agreement has put Ukraine in a bind.

"You can’t envy Zelenskyy right now, who has to get us out of this. But this isn’t just about Zelenskyy — it’s about how Ukraine gets out of this. I’ll say it again: this is a trap. However you spin it, there’s no good way out. There’s only one path, which the Zelenskyy administration is now taking — and I don’t think it’s 100% workable. They’ve hired lawyers. That was my suggestion when the U.S. Treasury Secretary visited. For a proper agreement, bring in American lawyers. That way, you can stretch the process, break down the details over weeks, even months. There’s a small chance that the Ukrainian delegation going to Washington might find arguments strong enough to convince the U.S. side to remove the absurd points in this agreement," Yatsenyuk said.

Minerals agreement background

On Thursday, March 27, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United States is proposing to sign a full agreement on minerals immediately, instead of a framework deal.

On March 28, media reported that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had added a condition to the minerals deal: Ukraine must repay all aid received from the U.S. since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

That same day, during a Q&A session in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko confirmed the government had received a draft minerals agreement from the U.S. and was working on its position.

Later, Zelenskyy said the new U.S. draft on rare earth minerals included points both sides had previously agreed to drop.

On March 31, President Trump claimed the Ukrainian president wanted to walk away from a key minerals deal.

Also on March 31, it was reported that Ukraine and the U.S. had held their first official discussion on the draft agreement.

On April 4, Zelenskyy said lawyers would present the main points of Ukraine’s version of the rare earth minerals deal with the U.S. next week.