Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not recognise US military aid as debt under minerals deal

[oil&gas]

KHRYSTYNA BONDARIEVA , TETYANA OLIYNYK
28 MARCH 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine is not ready to recognise the US military aid provided in recent years as a debt within the framework of the mineral resources agreement with the United States.

Source: Zelenskyy at a press briefing on Friday 28 March, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The president noted that the key compromises with the American side were outlined in a framework agreement, which failed to be signed at the end of February. At that time, it was ruled out that Ukraine would repay the United States for the aid provided since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"We will not accept debts, as I said. These are absolutely clear things to me. At least we are talking about the past," Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, he made it clear that Ukraine is ready to reimburse the United States for future assistance if the Trump administration provides it.

"If there are any prospects, new support, new packages of support, then the US can certainly set certain conditions. We understand that this team won’t do anything for us for free. They say that officially," Zelenskyy stated.

Background:

• Earlier, European Pravda reported that the Trump administration reintroduced a clause into a proposed agreement on Ukrainian subsoil resources that obliges Ukraine to repay the full amount of US aid provided since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
• The draft of the large agreement specifies that Ukraine would be obligated to reimburse the US for all assistance – including budgetary, military and humanitarian aid – provided since the start of Russia’s full-scale war.

Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not recognise US military aid as debt under minerals deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine is not ready to recognise the US military aid provided in recent years as a debt within the framework of the mineral resources agreement with the United States.

www.pravda.com.ua

 

[oil&gas]

Ukraine won't sign minerals deal with US if it threatens EU membership, Zelensky says
Kateryna Denisova
March 28, 2025

Ukraine will not sign a minerals deal with the U.S. if it threatens its accession to the European Union, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 28.

Zelensky's remarks came a day after details of a new alleged draft of a mineral agreement between Kyiv and Washington emerged. The Financial Times reported on March 27 that the latest version of the agreement proposed by the U.S. includes terms that would grant Washington unprecedented control over Ukraine's natural resources through a joint investment fund.

Ukrainian online newspaper European Pravda reported that the deal may contradict Ukraine's EU accession due to severe restrictions that affect Ukraine's economic sovereignty.

"The Constitution of Ukraine makes it clear that our course is towards the EU," Zelensky told reporters. "Nothing that could threaten Ukraine’s accession to the EU can be accepted."

According to Zelensky, Ukraine officially received a new version of the minerals deal from the U.S. on March 28.

Zelensky will consider the deal when there are "no relevant legislative threats," adding that lawyers should compare the all versions of the deal and give their assessment.

"There are a lot of things (in the new version of the deal) that had not been discussed before. And there are also some things that the parties had previously rejected," the president added.

Washington had initially planned to sign the agreement on Feb. 28, but the process was delayed after a heated dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelensky at the White House.

Zelensky confirmed on March 25 that the U.S. had proposed a "major" minerals deal based on a previous framework agreement, but he did not specify a signing timeline. A day earlier, Trump had said he expected the deal to be signed "soon."

According to the initial version, the agreement would establish a fund to which Ukraine would contribute 50% of proceeds from the future extraction of state-owned resources, including oil, gas, and logistics infrastructure.

The version Kyiv approved earlier does not include security guarantees but says that the fund "will be reinvested at least annually in Ukraine to promote the safety, security, and prosperity of Ukraine."

The White House has described the minerals deal as a mechanism for the U.S. to "recoup" some of the financial aid it has provided to Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Ukraine won't sign minerals deal with US if it threatens EU membership, Zelensky says

The Financial Times reported on March 27 that the latest version of the agreement proposed by the U.S. includes terms that would grant Washington unprecedented control over Ukraine's natural resources through a joint investment fund.

kyivindependent.com

 

[squeezer]

What is this POS up to? Hmmmm