Ukraine wants to sign a landmark minerals agreement with the US in Washington on Wednesday following months-long negotiations, Ukrainian officials said — but it wasn’t clear if the Trump administration was ready to ink the deal.
Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is currently in DC to coordinate final details tied to the mineral resources agreement, according to two senior Ukrainian officials.
The Ukrainian Cabinet is expected to approve the agreement’s wording — which includes the main deal and at least two technical accords — ahead of the sit-down.
There was no immediate word from the White House on whether the deal would be made official on Wednesday. The Post has reached out for comment.
One of the Ukrainian officials expressed hope, though, that there would be no changes from the US side.
The development would mark a major step in the drawn-out agreement process after a signing ceremony for an earlier version of the deal was axed when President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, got into a heated Oval Office spat.
Negotiations, which have been contentious at times, have continued steadily since then.
Trump has previously said he wants Ukraine’s rare earth elements as a condition of further support in its more than three-year war with Russia.
As part of the new agreement, Ukraine has reportedly introduced provisions in a bid to address concerns the initial draft favored US interests.
“We think that the teams have done good work and the deal is much better for both countries,” a Ukrainian official told the Financial Times.
An industry official close to the discussions said that more “details and not just declarations” were added to the text.
