Ukraine and the USA have agreed to jointly access Ukrainian natural resources

Here are the main conditions of this agreement (but this is not exactly)

Ukraine and the USA have developed the final text of the framework agreement on natural resources. It was published by Ukrainian Truth. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky managed to insist on two principal points. Firstly, income from mining and sales of minerals will be invested in the post-war restoration of Ukraine-they will not go to pay debt to the United States (which Zelensky does not recognize). Secondly, the agreement, although it does not directly provide for the security guarantees of Ukraine by the United States, but contains a mention of them. Officially, the contract has not yet been signed.

The framework agreement does not contain many details. They must be worked out in the subsequent agreement, the preparation of which representatives of the United States and Ukraine should begin immediately. In the near future (presumably on Friday, February 28), Zelensky will go to Washington for further negotiations and signing documents.

The main thing from the agreement

• The governments of Ukraine and the USA will create an investment recovery fund that will be owned and managed jointly. The Government of Ukraine will introduce 50% of all future income from the sale of minerals in state property, as well as from the operation of the relevant infrastructure (for example, LNG and port terminals). Already existing sources of income provided for in the budget of Ukraine do not fall under this agreement.
• The United States will be able to additionally contribute money and other assets to the fund, "critical for the restoration of Ukraine."
• The fund’s income will be invested at least once a year in projects that promote the “security, protection and prosperity of Ukraine”. First of all, these will be state and private projects for the development of minerals, the same LNG and port terminals.

Details regarding the structure of ownership, management and work of the recovery investment fund, as well as terms, will be prescribed in a special agreement, which will be developed by representatives of the US Department of Finance, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. This agreement will be subject to ratification by the Verkhovna Rada. It will also prescribe the provisions on dividends, that is, on income that not only Ukraine, but also the United States can receive from the fund.

Vladimir Zelensky emphasized that the framework agreement does not say anything about the US debt to the United States for already delivered military assistance. One of the fundamental objections of the Ukrainian president against the previous options for the contract was that they provided for the operation of the natural resources of Ukraine not for investment in its restoration, but to repay a debt of $ 500 billion. Zelensky does not recognize such a duty for Ukraine.

Another claim of Zelensky was that the previous options for the agreement did not provide for reliable guarantees of the security of Ukraine by the United States. The current framework agreement says: “The US government supports Ukraine’s efforts to receive security guarantees necessary to achieve a long -term world. Participants will strive to determine any necessary steps to protect mutual investments. ”