US and Ukraine towards agreement on sharing the nation's natural resources!
The US this week will offer Ukraine a bilateral agreement which would guarantee the country's security in exchange for a shared share of the country's resources through a "Reconstruction Investment Fund".
The bilateral agreement and the related fund agreement "will constitute integral elements of the architecture of bilateral and multilateral agreements, as well as concrete steps to establish sustainable peace," according to the document.
The draft agreement states that the US will retain 100% financial interest in the fund and will co-manage it together with Ukraine " to advance the economic value associated with Ukraine's resources, including but not limited to mineral resources, oil and gas resources, and infrastructure and ports, until the fund is fully funded."
The fund will operate during the period of protection, reconstruction and Ukraine's return to its GDP figure by the end of 2021, according to the draft. 50% of the contribution from revenues to the fund is expected from the Ukrainian government, minus operating expenses, but there is an increase in the contribution to 66% in relation to any territory currently occupied by Russia, which may be de-occupied.
Contributions to the fund from Ukraine will continue "until contributions reach the amount of $500 billion," according to the document.
The fund agreement “shall specifically provide that the Government of Ukraine shall contribute to the fund an additional amount equal to twice the amount that the United States provides to Ukraine after the date of the agreement,” the document states. “To this end, [the United States] intends to provide a long-term financial commitment to the development of a stable and economically prosperous Ukraine,” the document states.
Tense relationships
Relations between Ukraine and the US have cooled since US President-elect Donald Trump began negotiations to end the war directly with Russian authorities, sidelining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and referring to him as a "dictator" last week.
Several European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, defended Zelenskyy after Trump's comments. Ukraine entered its fourth year of war on February 24, the date that marks the anniversary of the start of the war in 2022. EU support for the country remains high on the leaders' agenda. On March 6, European Council President António Costa called an extraordinary summit of EU heads of state to discuss developments in the country and the EU's defense efforts.
Donald Trump said yesterday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers deployed in Ukraine as part of a possible deal to end the war. Trump made the comments to reporters at the start of a White House meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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