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Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for a long-term US security commitment.
Ukrainian officials say Kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from exploiting the resources.
The officials argued that they had negotiated far more favourable terms and depicted the deal as a way of broadening the relationship with the US to shore up Ukraine’s prospects after three years of war.
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Is FT seriously trying to spin this as if Ukraine achieved anything in negotiations? American extortion won.
“If you give a mouse a cookie…”
Extortion.
it’s a trap, never trust trump, a trump never pay his debt, he’s a crook
You spelled United States wrong
The US has the special ability to blame all bad things on their current president and definitely not the country as a whole.
Contrary to every other country in the world.
They should know better than to trust Trump to hold up his end of a deal.
If Trump renegs the US gets nothing. This is awful but the real politik is probably that this is the best solution Ukraine can access that stops the violence.
And it’s possible Zelensky is planning to reneg on the deal as soon as Trump is out if America can accomplish that.
Zelensky should absolutely reneg. In his shoes, I’d sign about anything, but I’d also be willing to tell the US to fuck off in the end.
Now they dont have nukes OR minerals
Ukrainian officials say Kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from exploiting the resources.
… then what, exactly, remains in the deal?
Ukrainian officials added that the deal was just a “framework agreement” and that no revenues would change hands until the fund was in place, allowing them time to iron out any potential disagreements. Among the outstanding issues is to agree the jurisdiction of the agreement.
I can’t help but still feel this is a bad idea.
I can’t help but still feel this is a bad idea.
Totally. But Ukraine’s in an impossible situation. The US running a protection racket is fucking disgusting.
A protection racket involves actual protection though, the USA has specifically said no security agreements will be made.
I’m not sure wtf Ukraine is giving them rights for.
It is disgusting, but I also don’t see what Ukraine gets out of this. It’s not a protection racket if protection isn’t provided in exchange. I don’t know that I would even rightly call it extortion, since I don’t think Ukraine signing this will affect Trump’s behavior as a Putinist puppet.
I hope the stress and necessity of looking after his own country during wartime, not to mention dozens of other national leaders, hasn’t led Zelensky or his team to underestimate just how ghoulish and empty Trump is, or how fucked US politics are at the moment, if they’re hoping for a “Come to Jesus” moment from the GOP or judiciary if Trump blatantly turns against Ukraine.
I’m sure they know exactly who and what Trump is. I don’t think it’ll change Trump’s behaviour either. I’m assuming they’re just gambling against the odds that it will because the near future without the US is much harder for Ukraine than it is with them.
I hope that they’re stalling, or that the agreement is just something that looks good to Trump’s shit-clogged brain without promising anything substantial. Or something with a subtle poison pill or loophole in it of some sort that would make ‘calling in’ the benefits difficult, at least for so long as the war goes on.
But I’m inclined to agree that this seems like they’re just gambling that any chance of US help is better than none.
Still. I really hope it isn’t.
Well, my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people, but obviously they don’t need Trump invading as well. Would he follow through? All I can say is I’m not convinced he wouldn’t.
So ashamed of my country these days…
This will stand until russia kills zelensky and runs the U.S. out.
Technically, that’d be essentially no different of an agreement than not having a cease fire at all…
While I think this is absolutely exploitative I think one reason Zelensky is agreeing is because the US getting access to those minerals is dependent on ensuring independence (or else making an arrangement with Russia which the US could do without even setting up this cease fire pretense)
It actually opens the door to Ukraine reneging on the deal as soon as Trump is out of office and then working towards a more equitable cease fire. I’d view this cease fire as a stop gap to stem the bleeding.
I agree Ukraine could pull the deal after Trump but, that is a big could. In the mean time Putin could still put a hit on Zelensky. The US and Russia will claim they dont know anything. Putin then could dog walk Trump again bc he wont stand up to Putin.
I hope Im so wrong that I get dunked on but I dont trust anyone involved. I just hope Zelensky is save and Ukraine is independent.
Fuck Trump, Fuck Putin, fuck them as presidents and leaders and if anyone is down with them, then fuck you too.
To be perfectly frank. I think Zelensky has done an excellent job for Ukraine and I would hope he has a chance to retire and enjoy life… no matter what he does for the rest of his life, while Putin is alive (and likely afterwards) he’ll have a target on his back and it’s fucking astounding he’s survived as long as he has. If you’ve seen pictures of him landing in Davos it’s pretty clear he’s aware that snipers could be literally anywhere.
If Ukraine is fully dependent on Zelensky surviving for their future sovereignty they’re on the thinnest of ice. I personally hope that Verkhovna Rava is majority on the same page because one mortal’s life is far too fragile to stake freedom on.
Ukraine should offer to investigate the Bidens for return of Crimea.
Good luck. You’re gonna need it.
Uh huh. So now that we’re not being terribly-exploited by Ukraine any more and Trump can announce that he has brilliantly cut a deal which will, no doubt, make America great again, are we ramping supply of military hardware back up?
To “peacekeeping forces” under the command of Russia, to secure the minerals, of course. /s
its easier to build mining infrastructure and then let russians take it over again
Is there any info on what Ukraine gains from this, other than “improved relations”?
Probably a share of any developed resources. And defence today. Probably not enough to consider this deal, I hope it is time limited
No defense agreement at all as far as I can tell. Just some ambiguous insinuation that trump and Russia will make a better deal because of it.
Doesn’t seem like there’s anything in writing.
Ukraine should know better than to appease dictators
Well shit.
I wonder if Ukraine is calling Trump’s bluff.
Trump doesn’t have to bluff anything. I’ve seen a few comments now suggesting that Zelenskyy somehow has the upper hand and is negotiating from a position of strength while Trump is weak.
Ukraine and Zelenskyy have absolutely no leverage over Trump. Zip, notta.
I hope Ukraine wins this war. I hope Putin pisses off Trump and Trump resumes full support for Ukraine. I hope Putin is destabilized and better leadership replaces him.
But Zelenskyy is no position to “call” anything and Trump has no reason to bluff.
Sorry, hate to be like this, but I have a small correction for you. “Notta” isn’t a word. The word you’re looking for is “nada”, which is “nothing” in Spanish.
But Zelenskyy is no position to “call” anything and Trump has no reason to bluff.
I don’t think this is a ‘bluff’ or being ‘called’, but I do feel the need to point out that this is a similar situation to the tariffs on Canada and Mexico - Trump seeks a ‘win’ by looking ‘tough’. Insofar as he can be made to seem weak or foolish, such deals are a loss for him. Zelensky is, arguably, in a position to ‘call’ simply because Trump seems very likely to rescind aid and take Russia’s side regardless of what Zelensky does.
But again - I don’t think this is a bluff or a call. And not knowing the details of the agreement makes it even hazier.
Gotcha. I see better where you’re coming from now. Yeah, Zelenskyy needs to be very very careful.
edit: mixed up commenters but the comment above is insightful and turn out right.
