Starting next week, the Ukrainian government will begin serious efforts to finalize a minerals and security guarantees agreement with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. This was stated by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, in an interview with the Japanese publication NHK.
According to him, a governmental expert group will start working on the agreement from Monday. Stefanchuk emphasized that Ukraine is ready to collaborate with partners on the minerals agreement, but seeks specific security guarantees.
The Rada Speaker also mentioned that Kyiv intends to engage in constructive discussions and aims to hold a summit with U.S. representatives as soon as possible.
Commenting on Donald Trump's statements regarding the need for elections in Ukraine, Stefanchuk noted that Ukrainian legislation clearly prohibits elections during the period of martial law. He also pointed out that elections would not be fair in the context of a full-scale war, as military personnel would be unable to participate.
At the same time, Stefanchuk highlighted that for the war to end, Russia must not only withdraw from Ukrainian territory and return all occupied lands but also be held accountable for its actions. In particular, the Russian Federation must pay reparations to all those affected during the conflict.
Resource Agreement with the U.S.
As reported by UNIAN, on Friday, the Trump administration made significant progress in agreements with Ukraine regarding the minerals agreement. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that Kyiv is working on a draft agreement aimed at reducing tensions in relations with Trump.
We also mentioned that Donald Trump is pressuring Ukraine regarding the minerals agreement for several reasons. According to Americanist Alexander Kraev, the most important point is that this is simply Trump's personal whim.