Trump says he will soon speak with Zelenskyy about minerals deal
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that he will speak with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky about the mineral resources agreement ratified by the Verkhovna Rada on Thursday, 8 May.
He made the statement during a meeting in the Oval Office, Censor.NET reports.
Trump said the United States had "just concluded a rare-earth resources deal with Ukraine."
"It has been fully ratified and approved by their legislative body. We appreciate that, and I will speak with the President (of Ukraine - ed.) a little later," he noted.
According to the U.S. President, the United States now has "access to a vast amount of high-quality rare-earth metals."
As previously reported, today the Verkhovna Rada ratified the Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the United States of America on the establishment of the American–Ukrainian Recovery Investment Fund.
In addition to the intergovernmental agreement on creating the Recovery Fund, two further documents—yet to be published—will be signed: a Limited Partnership Agreement (which defines the terms of cooperation) and the Fund’s Charter, under which that cooperation will operate.
According to media reports, the United States will not invest significant funds into the Fund; instead, the American contribution will consist of the weapons transferred to Ukraine. Ukraine, for its part, will contribute 50 percent of all rental payments, licensing fees, and sums payable to the government under production‐sharing agreements relating to licenses issued after the Agreement’s entry into force, as well as so-called "dormant licenses."
Estimates by the State Geological Service indicate there are around 3,000 dormant special permits in total, but proving they are unused requires ten years of inactivity and can only be done through court proceedings.
Under the Agreement, certain active special permits will also be classified as dormant—specifically, those whose production over the past ten years has been less than 1 percent of their proven reserves, or those for which violations or failure to meet the approved work program have been recorded for more than five years.
