Ukraine to discuss minerals deal with US as Russia drags feet on ceasefire

Ukraine plans to send negotiators to the United States this week to discuss Washington’s latest proposed deal for access to its rare earth minerals deposits.

Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced on Monday that a team would visit the US “to move forward with negotiations” on the contentious deal, which President Donald Trump has made a condition for continued support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.Trump has claimed that the deal, which would grant the US preferential access to valuable natural resources, would underpin Ukraine’s post-war security and reconstruction. However, Moscow continues to stall regarding the bid by the White House to broker a ceasefire.

Ukraine’s team will include representatives from various ministries, including those for the economy, foreign affairs, justice, and finance, Svyrydenko said.

“This dialogue reflects the strategic interests of both nations and our shared commitment to building a strong, transparent partnership,” she wrote on X, adding that negotiators aimed “to align on project selection, legal frameworks, and long-term investment mechanisms”.Trump has said Washington will not back the presence of peacekeepers to guarantee Ukraine’s security in a ceasefire. He claims instead that the presence of US firms extracting minerals in the country would deter further Russian aggression.

An initial version of the deal was derailed following a fiery Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.

In late March, Washington presented Kyiv with a revised draft significantly broader than the earlier version. Ukrainian lawmakers leaked the new document, which includes access not only to rare-earth minerals but also to gas and oil, prompting critics to slam it as a diplomatic shakedown.

Trump sees the deal as a way to claw back billions in aid for Ukraine’s fight against Russia. But Zelenskyy has insisted that Kyiv would not recognise past US aid as loans that must be repaid nor agree to a deal that threatens future integration with the European Union.

‘Questions hanging in the air’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, but added that there are many “questions hanging in the air” about how it would work.

Putin has so far rejected a joint US-Ukrainian proposal for an unconditional and full ceasefire. He made a US-proposed partial truce in the Black Sea dependent on the West lifting certain sanctions.