The mineral deal is signed, Trump agrees with first arms export to Ukraine

Exactly what words VolodyMyr Zensky used in the Sint-Pietersbasiliek last Saturday Entre Nous With Donald Trump has still not been fully clarified, but the plea of ​​the Ukrainian president for the protection of his besieged country against the Russian aggressor does not seem to have missed his effect. The raw material agreement that the US and Ukraine closed in Washington on Wednesday – after weeks in a sometimes extremely hostile atmosphere – resembles what was still described two months ago in Kyiv as an American ‘attempted extortion’.

Not all the details have been announced yet, but one thing seems to have already reached Ukraine: drawing the ‘deal’ breeds the only goodwill at Trump and takes away important obstacles for the purchase of American weapons and other military equipment, with which the Ukrainian armed forces can better defend themselves against the persistent Russian attacks in the persistent Russian attacks. According to the KYIV Post On Thursday, the Trump government approved the export of weapons to Ukraine, worth 50 million dollars. Ukraine wants to do shopping in the US for dozens of billions, especially for his air defense.

Sovereign state

The arrival of American military equipment – much needed in the Ukrainian fight against the Russians – had become highly uncertain since the return of Trump to the White House. Only two months ago, Trump suspended the delivery of all military aid and information to KYIV, in the aftermath of his public fight with Zensky in the Oval Office. With that, for Ukraine, which gets deep wounds in the war every day, the worst conceivable scenario.

On Wednesday the American tone De Ukrainians sounded a lot friendlier in the ears – and Kyiv can see that as a victory. Where the Trump government in the last few weeks in the perception of KYIV mainly raised as a mouthpiece of the Kremlin, Washington now unambiguously expresses itself for the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign state. « This agreement issues Russia the clear signal that the Trump government is committed to a peace process that controls a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine, » wrote Finance Minister Scott Bessent in a statement.

It was the same minister who early February In Kyiv, an US account of $ 500 billion came for the military support that Ukraine had received in recent years. Not that that amount actually represented the value of American aid, but Trumps transactional intentions were clear.

More balanced

Three months later, the burdens and the lusts of the ‘raw material deal’ seem to be more balanced. The core of the agreement is the establishment of a joint investment fund for the mineral riches and the reconstruction of the country after the war. With the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund American companies receive pre -emptive rights in access to crucial minerals and natural resources of Ukraine.

There is no longer any question of Ukrainian reimbursement of the American military support in recent years. Instead, the countries agree that future military support can be seen as American contributions to the investment fund.

With the agreement, Ukraine can benefit from American knowledge and investors in the operation of its soil treasures in his reconstruction. This includes earth metals that are crucial for almost all modern electronic devices and weapons, but also about oil and gas.

After the end of the war, Ukraine from Washington still does not get the security guarantees why it had asked, but the Americans spoke themselves according to The Washington Post Out of support for « Ukrainian safety, prosperity, reconstruction and integration in the global economic frameworks. »

After the war, the Americans will ensure that « no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine » can earn from the reconstruction of Ukraine, Bessent said on Wednesday. That tone has also been different in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian Minister of Economic Affairs Joelja Svyrydenko said on Wednesday that the agreement no longer causes constitutional problems for Ukraine, such as in previous versions, or stores obstacles for a future EU membership. « The most important thing is that this agreement issues a message to other world powers, that Ukraine is a reliable partner for the long term for the coming decades. »

With the raw material agreement, Trump seems to be making a remarkable split: the US is hereby looking for some approach to Ukraine, without Putin directly hiding measures that go directly against Russian interests. Whether the Trump government is actually shifting in the direction of Ukraine is questionable. Trump regularly makes a change in numerous policy surfaces.

Good relationships

During the recent American attempts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, Trump and the representatives of his government were strikingly mild for the Russian Putin. For example, Trump showed that he is considering the economic sanctions against Russia and wants to do business with Moscow. Trump also chose Putin in the thwart of NATO membership of Ukraine. Furthermore, Russia is one of the few countries in the world that are fully spared in the new American import duties.

In the meantime, Trump defended his strongly stripped ‘mineral deal’ on Wednesday by pointing out the financial profit that the Americans can achieve in the future from the extraction of Ukrainian raw materials. « We are here for 350 billion dollars, or in the neighborhood (former president) Biden gave them $ 350 billion in cash and equipment; we received nothing. In theory we get much more than 350 billion. » Incidentally, there is no evidence that the US has spent so much money on Ukraine in recent years if Trump claims.

In the short term, the biggest profit for Ukraine seems to have been able to put President Trump in the spotlight. The details of the raw material agreement only become relevant as soon as the war has ended. Until that time, the Ukrainians are particularly interested in maintaining good relationships with the world’s most important military power.

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