At Summit with Italian Prime Minister
"They Will Honor the Agreement"
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on the 17th (local time) that he will sign a mineral agreement with Ukraine on the 24th.
On the same day, President Trump held a summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office at the White House and told reporters, "We are negotiating a mineral deal and expect to sign it on Thursday (the 24th)," adding, "I believe they (Ukraine) will honor the agreement."
The U.S. and Ukraine initially planned to hold a summit at the White House in late February to conclude the mineral agreement. However, the summit ended in failure due to disagreements over security guarantees, causing the mineral agreement negotiations to collapse. The mineral agreement under discussion involved Ukraine contributing half of the mineral resource revenues to a joint fund led by the U.S. as compensation for the support the U.S. has provided to Ukraine.
After the summit, the two countries resumed mineral negotiations, and with progress made, it now appears that only the final signing remains. It is also reported that the U.S. has eased its demands for repayment of war aid to Ukraine during the negotiation process. According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. reduced the repayment amount of war aid to Ukraine from the previous $300 billion to $100 billion, a figure close to Ukraine's claim of $90 billion.
Ukraine also hinted at the mineral agreement's conclusion. Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on the same day, stating, "This document was signed online late Thursday," adding, "This opens the way for an economic partnership agreement and the establishment of a Ukraine reconstruction investment fund."
President Trump said regarding a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, "We are very close." When asked by when Russia must respond to the ceasefire proposal to avoid a second round of sanctions, he replied, "This week, we will hear from them very soon."
He also continued to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a victim of the war caused by Russia's invasion.
President Trump said, "I do not hold President Zelenskyy responsible, but I am not happy that the war started," adding, "I am not blaming him. What I am saying is that he cannot be said to have done an excellent job."
President Trump has actively pushed for a ceasefire in the Ukraine war, but negotiations have stalled due to Russia's passive stance. Regarding the U.S.-Ukraine mineral agreement, the final terms need to be disclosed, but criticisms of it being exploitative persist. While the U.S. takes half of the mineral development revenues from Ukraine, direct security guarantees to Ukraine have so far been absent. Additionally, it is reported that the U.S. has claimed control over the Russian gas pipelines passing through Ukraine to Europe.
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