In a complex atmosphere, the US and Ukraine are negotiating for rare metals

The American and Ukrainian negotiators under the US access agreement to the Ukrainian natural resources met on Friday, but the prospects for the breakthrough are weak, given the « antagonistic » atmosphere of the meeting.

The tensions in the negotiations in Washington stem from the latest draft proposal of the Trump administration, which is more extensive than the original version, the source said.

« The negotiation environment is very antagonistic, » the source said, pointing to the « maximalist » project presented by the Trump administration last month.

A spokesman for the US Department of Finance confirmed the conversations by calling them « technically by nature ».

And the Gazprom transit has been added

The latter project will give the United States a privileged access to the mineral deposits in Ukraine and will require Kiev to invest in a joint investment fund all revenue from the operation of natural resources from Ukrainian state and private companies.

However, the proposed transaction will not provide US security guarantees to Kiev – a top priority of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, who is trying to ensure that Russia will not attack again after restoring its forces from the present war.

The source said that one of the Easter eggs found in the document was the US request from the International Financial Corporation for the US Government’s Government to take control of the natural gas pipeline from the Russian energy giant Gazprom through Ukraine to Europe.

Ukraine stopped using it since New Year’s Eve after the Treaty with Gazprom expired and the supply of Central Europe was diverted through the Turkish Stream passing through Bulgaria.

On Wednesday, Zelenski said that the mineral deal should be profitable for both sides and can be structured in a way that will help to modernize Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Dennis Schmikhal and Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko will be in Washington in two weeks for meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. As part of their program, a special meeting for Ukraine is planned on April 25.

US President Donald Trump is striving for a deal covering the rare metals of Ukraine, which involve the valuable editorial minerals as part of his efforts to end the war and as a way to recover billions of dollars from US military assistance to Kiev.