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Kyiv and Washington have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance an agreement on an investment fund for natural resources and energy assets in Ukraine, reported familiar officials with the Financial Times.
The officials said that the memorandum had been signed “practically” and that they hoped to finalize the total of the economic agreement at the end of next week.
Yulia Svyrydenko, the first vice-minister and Minister of the Economy, confirmed the signature, displaying a photograph of herself with the secretary of the Treasury Scott each in their respective offices.
“Today, we have taken a step towards a joint agreement of economic partnership with the United States,” she said, adding that the memorandum “testifies to the joint constructive work of our teams and the intention to finalize and conclude an agreement that will be beneficial for our two peoples”.
She said the full agreement “would open up opportunities for significant investments, the modernization of infrastructure and a mutually beneficial partnership between Ukraine and the United States”.
What the Ukrainian officials said reported “positive not” – after the talks were derailed following the confrontation between the presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump in the White House in February – obtained what was a difficult negotiation process on the right track.
Speaking in a briefing Thursday before signing, Zelenskyy said that American negotiators had proposed a provisional step as a goodwill gesture, while the legal teams on both sides continued to work on the details of the full agreement.
“This is a protocol of intention-not the agreement itself-but that reflects our constructive and positive intentions,” he said.
Later Thursday, during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Trump said that his administration planned to sign the complete agreement on natural resources and energy assets next Thursday.
Bessent, however, said later that the details were still being finalized, in order to sign by April 26, next Saturday.
He added that the agreement was significantly the same as that previously negotiated, where Zelenskyy and Trump had not signed a memorandum of understanding. Ukrainian officials, however, said they had managed to bring more the agreement according to their preferences.
Ukrainian officials familiar with the case said that the parties should only report the progress of April 26, after Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s visit to Washington, with the aim of concluding discussions and signing shortly after.
They said it was possible to sign the full contract, but that it would not be clear before the finalization of negotiations in the coming days.
“I guess they will be up to the agreement,” said Trump.
Trump pleaded for a large agreement granting preferential access to the United States to Ukraine natural resources, including critical minerals and rare earths, treating it as compensation for billions of dollars in military aid provided in kyiv under the administration of Joe Biden. However, Zelenskyy deserved to sign an agreement that does not include security guarantees.
A draft American proposal sent to kyiv last month and the first report by the Financial Times went far beyond a joint economic agreement described in February. The proposal marked a strong escalation of Washington requests while offering kyiv no security guarantee in return.
High Ukrainian officials have warned that the written agreement could threaten national sovereignty, divert profits abroad and increase dependence in the United States.
The proposal covered all mineral resources, including petroleum and gas, and called for a supervisory board with the right of veto in the United States to oversee the income for division of energy and mineral projects between the two countries.
Since then, Ukraine has hired the US law firm Hogan Lovells to work with Olha Stefanyyna, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, to negotiate better agreement with the United States, according to the government of Ukraine and a law on the registration of foreign agents filed by the FT.
Ukrainian officials familiar with the issue told the FT that progress had been made to use some of the most controversial American requests, which could have prevented the agreement from being ratified by the country’s parliament. However, they refused to provide details when the negotiations were still underway.
The case was so sensitive that Zelenskyy launched an investigation into the leak of the last American profit proposal for Ukrainian assets, which included the use of polygraphic tests on government officials.
Once finalized, the agreement must be the approval of the Ukrainian Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
