Ukraine to Send Negotiators to US Over Controversial Rare Earth Deal

Iruni Kalupahana, JadeTimes Staff

I. Kalupahana is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Russia-Ukraine war

---

Image source: Unsplash

Ukraine will send a mission to the United States this week to seal terms of an agreement that grants Washington first preference for its rare earth minerals. The move, which was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, comes as Ukraine continues to seek support amid Russia's persistent invasion. Delegates from the ministry of economy, foreign affairs ministry, ministry of justice, and the ministry of finance are scheduled to lead the mission, highlighting the significance of the envisaged agreement.

The rare earth deal, advocated by ex US President Donald Trump, has become the focal point of Washington's ongoing assistance to Ukraine. Trump has made future aid contingent on Ukraine signing to grant the US access to critical natural resources, citing that the deal would improve Ukraine's long-term security and reconstruction efforts. Critics have instead contended that the offer puts US business interests ahead of Ukraine's sovereignty and post war recovery.

Svyrydenko emphasized that the next negotiations are aimed at establishing an open, long-term partnership. "This dialogue is the strategic interests of the two nations," she tweeted on X, explaining that the negotiations would entail project selection, regulatory frameworks, and investment channels. A new draft of the agreement, leaked in March by Ukrainian lawmakers, extended the terms of the deal to include gas and oil eliciting charges that the agreement is more a diplomatic extortion than a bilateral investment.

Disagreements about the deal were heightened after a February Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that reportedly resulted in disagreement. While Trump considers the deal to be a tool of rationalization and recovering billions of US assistance, Zelenskyy has remained insistent on any proposal that includes previous aid as a loan or sits uncomfortably with Ukraine's path to European integration. The new version has also complicated matters, and the majority of Ukrainian officials see it as potentially compromising national interests.

Meanwhile, the broader geopolitical context is evolving. The Kremlin, in statements by spokesman Dmitry Peskov, indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to a ceasefire but only on indefinite terms and significantly tied to the lifting of Western sanctions. Moscow spurned both an unconditional and full ceasefire and a partial Black Sea truce proposed by the US, prolonging the war and putting pressure on Ukraine to secure the support of the West.

While negotiations are ongoing in Washington DC, US-Ukrainian relations and Ukraine's future after the war are uncertain. While the deal on rare earth has the capability to unlock economic doors, it also raises sovereignty, justice, and the cost of foreign assistance in war challenges. The two are dug in, so negotiations could next spell not only the direction of the deal but Ukraine's international allies' direction.