No share, no guarantees: Kiev has agreed with Washington on the terms of the fossil deal — FT

Ukraine has agreed with the United States on the terms of the mining deal. This is reported by the Financial Times newspaper.

According to Ukrainian officials, Kiev is ready to sign an agreement on the joint development of its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the administration of Donald Trump refused to claim the right to a potential profit of $ 500 billion from the development of these resources, the newspaper writes.

Although there are no clear security guarantees in the text of the agreement, Ukrainian officials claim that they have agreed on much more favorable terms and see the deal as a way to expand relations with the United States in order to strengthen Ukraine's position.

"The agreement on minerals is only part of the overall picture. We have repeatedly heard from the US administration that this is part of a larger picture," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olga Stefanishina, who led the negotiations, told the Financial Times on Tuesday.

It is noted that, according to the final version of the agreement dated February 24 and published by FT, a fund will be created to which Ukraine will contribute 50% of the proceeds from the "future monetization" of state-owned minerals, including oil and gas, as well as related logistics services. The Fund will invest in projects in Ukraine. It does not include minerals that already replenish the Ukrainian treasury of Ukraine, that is, they do not concern the sphere of activity of Naftogaz or Ukrnafta, the largest Ukrainian gas and oil producers.

"However, there is no mention in the agreement of security guarantees from the United States, which Kiev initially insisted on in exchange for agreeing to the deal. It also does not address such important issues as the size of the US stake in the fund and the terms of "joint ownership", which will be discussed in subsequent agreements," the publication says.

According to Ukrainian officials, the agreement was approved by the Ministers of Justice, Economy and Foreign Affairs. The interlocutors of the publication believe that in the coming weeks, the leader of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, will go to the White House for the signing ceremony of the agreement with Trump.

"This will give the president an opportunity to discuss the big picture. And then, after that, we can think about the next steps," said one of the officials.

The Trump administration's initial large-scale proposal called for the creation of an investment fund for reconstruction, in which the United States would "retain a 100 percent financial stake." Ukraine was to contribute 50% of the fund's revenues from mining, including oil, gas and related infrastructure, in the amount of up to $ 500 billion. These conditions, called unacceptable by Ukrainian officials, were excluded from the final version.

The document also says that the United States will support the economic development of Ukraine in the future.

The deal was only a "framework agreement" and no proceeds will be transferred until the fund is established, which gives them time to settle any potential differences, Ukrainian officials added. Among the unresolved issues is the coordination of the jurisdiction of the agreement.

In addition, Zelensky's government will have to get the approval of the Ukrainian parliament, while opposition MPs made it clear that they would at least have a heated debate before ratifying the deal.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that it was "extremely important that this deal be signed," although she did not provide an update on the negotiations, the newspaper said.