MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko will visit Washington this week to continue negotiations with the United States on a minerals deal, said Ukrainian parliament member Alexey Goncharenko (blacklisted in Russia as a terrorist and extremist).
"My sources say that Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko plans to fly to Washington this week to continue negotiations on the minerals deal," the deputy wrote on his Telegram channel.
Earlier, the Financial Times newspaper wrote, citing senior Ukrainian officials, that Kiev and Washington could sign an agreement on minerals as early as this week. The framework deal that is being finalized applies to all mineral resources, including oil and gas and major energy assets across the entire Ukrainian territory, the paper noted.
On April 17, Ukraine and the US signed a memorandum as part of the future minerals deal. However, its signing was canceled on February 28 after the talks between Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at the White House devolved into a shouting match. The memorandum enshrines the parties' intention to create an investment fund.
The latest draft of the minerals deal, on which the US and Ukraine are working, obligates Kiev to reimburse over $120 billion in aid. On April 24, Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine had received at least $105 billion worth of weapons and other aid from the US, although he had previously cited a smaller amount. On April 25, Trump said that Ukraine has not yet signed the minerals deal with the United States and expressed hope that it would be signed as soon as possible.