US and Ukraine sign minerals deal and agree to establish investment fund
30 April 2025, 22:57 | Updated: 1 May 2025, 09:24
The US and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after weeks of negotiations.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The US Treasury have confirmed that a rare earths and minerals deal has been signed by the US and Ukraine.
Specific details remain unclear, but it is believed the agreement includes the creation of a US-Ukraine reconstruction investment fund.
The minerals deal may see the US mine Ukraine for precious minerals and rare earths, in what Trump has described as ‘getting our money back’, referencing US military support and aid for the country since 2022.
It is widely understood the deal is key to ensuring Ukraine will receive future US military support.
The Treasury said the deal signals to Russia that Trump's administration is committed to peace negotiations centred on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine.
“As you know, we're looking for rare earth all the time," Trump said. "They have a lot, and we made a deal, so we can start digging and doing what we have to do. It's also good for them."
After a heated Oval Office meeting between vice president JD Vance, Trump and Zelenskyy, talks stalled for weeks.
Standing next to US President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Ukraine was trying to make ‘last-minute changes’ to the proposed agreement, but ‘nothing changed on our side’.
Trump interrupted Bessent to repeat his familiar criticism of former president Joe Biden’s spending on the war, using figures that have long been debunked by experts and EU leaders.
The US president was speaking after a cabinet meeting marking the first 100 days of his second term as president.
He said he “didn't want to make a complicated deal" because "Ukraine doesn't have very much money".
But "we've made a deal where our money is secure," he added.
He also said the US presence in Ukraine would be positive, and "will keep a lot of bad actors out of the country".
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Smyhal said that part of the agreement is for Ukraine to maintain control over its natural resources, and that the deal is only concerned with future licenses and permits for subsoil use.
Once Ukraine and the US sign the agreement, it has to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament before it can come into force.
It comes after Russia seemed to scupper hopes for a ceasefire between them and Ukraine, telling Donald Trump the war is “too complicated” to resolve quickly.
Speaking on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a ceasefire in Ukraine will not be agreed soon, despite Russia being “open to peace.”
What Donald Trump has done during the first 100 days of his second term
The White House continues to seek a deal between Russia and Ukraine after Donald Trump promised to end the war in “one day.”
"We understand that Washington is willing to achieve a quick success in this process, but at the same time we hope for understanding that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis is too complicated [a process] to be done overnight, there are lots of details and lots of small things that need to be tackled before the settlement," Peskov said.
He added that the Kremlin is willing to speak directly with Ukraine, despite being “grateful” to the United States for trying to mediate the deal.
"A peace deal should be done with Ukraine and not with America,” he said.“America is trying to mediate and we are grateful... a couple of days ago President Putin renewed his readiness for direct negotiations with the Ukrainians without any initial conditions. This readiness is still active," he added.