LONDON, February 22. /TASS/. An agreement on natural resources, proposed to Kiev by Washington, does not presume it relinquishing its rights to its minerals, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent wrote in a column for the Financial Times.
"This partnership will support the US’s continued commitment to the people of Ukraine as well as lay the foundation for a robust reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy," he said. "The US would not be taking ownership of physical assets in Ukraine. Nor would it be saddling Ukraine with more debt. This type of economic pressure, while deployed by other global actors, would advance neither American nor Ukrainian interests," the official added.
Bessent noted that the minerals agreement will help prevent any corrupted deals while rebuilding Ukraine.
"The US’s involvement would leave no room for corruption and insider deals," the official said. He noted that "the terms of our partnership propose that revenue received by the government of Ukraine from natural resources, infrastructure and other assets is allocated to a fund focused on the long-term reconstruction and development of Ukraine where the US will have economic and governance rights in those future investments."
On February 12, Bessent handed over a draft agreement on rare-earth metals while visiting Kiev. Vladimir Zelensky did not sign it then, nor later, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, during his meeting with US Vice President JD Vance. Instead, the Ukrainian delegation presented a revised version with its proposed amendments which the Americans decided not to take into account.
In recent days, tensions between the US and Ukraine have escalated sharply. US President Donald Trump labeled Zelensky a dictator and accused him of obstructing a rare earths deal. In response, Zelensky suggested that Trump was a victim of "Russian disinformation.".