US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that a possible raw materials agreement between Ukraine and the United States does not include military security guarantees.
“But what it does include is an implicit guarantee that if the United States of America is heavily invested in the economic future, I call it an economic security guarantee,” Bessent told US television.
The agreement is part of US President Donald Trump’s long-term negotiating strategy for peace between Ukraine and Russia.
The envisaged agreement “involves strategic minerals, energy and state owned enterprises,” Bessent said.
When asked whether it could still be signed next week, he said: “I’m quite hopeful.”
Moscow does not like the idea of the US making a deal with Ukraine, the Treasury chief emphasized. This should be another incentive for Ukraine to sign the agreement.
Bessent, who recently travelled to Kiev to negotiate the agreement, expressed his disappointment that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not yet signed it.
In the Financial Times, Bessent provided details of the proposed agreement. Under the terms, countries that have not contributed to defending Ukraine’s sovereignty cannot beneift from the investments, he wrote.
Revenues of the Ukrainian government from natural resources, infrastructure and other assets would be paid into a fund that is geared towards the long-term reconstruction and development of Ukraine. The US would have a say in economic and administrative matters.
Trump has linked US aid to Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia, to access to its rare earth materials. The deposits are considered economically lucrative and strategically significant.
Zelensky rejected the initial draft and has consistently said that Ukraine needs security guarantees. Trump said over the weekend that he expects an agreement with Kiev to be reached shortly.
