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Minerals deal shows that US has economic interests in Ukraine — Treasury secretary

Scott Bessent believes that the deal is "a signal to the Russian leadership."

NEW YORK, May 1. /TASS/. By concluding a minerals deal with Kiev, Washington is seeking to demonstrate that it has economic interests in Ukraine, US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent told Fox News.

"He [US President Donald Trump] wants both sides to come to the table now by showing that the US has an economic interest in Ukraine," he said.

Bessent believes that the deal is "a signal to the Russian leadership."

"It's also a signal to the American people that we have a chance to participate, get some of our the funding and the weapons compensation," the secretary of the Treasury added.

Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister Yulia Sviridenko confirmed the signing of the minerals deal with the United States in a post on Facebook (banned in Russia, owned by the Meta corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia). According to the document, Ukraine will bring into the fund 50% of all incomes generated by new licenses for extracting minerals at new areas. The United States and Ukraine will have equal votes in managing the fund. The agreement envisages no direct Ukrainian liabilities to the United States.

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