MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States has excluded provisions on security guarantees, such as continuation of providing military aid to Ukraine, from the text of the rare minerals deal, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed former US official familiar with the matter.
Washington reportedly rejected this provision at an early stage of its work on the deal’s text.
The US Treasury Department earlier said Washington and Kiev signed an agreement to establish the United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which, according to the Ukrainian government, is part of a broader minerals deal between the two countries.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the minerals agreement with the US would be signed in the next 24 hours. According to him, the agreement provides for the creation of an investment fund in Ukraine with a 50/50 distribution of management and contributions between the parties. He noted that the document also envisages investment in Ukraine’s development over the next 10 years.
This will apply to both goods and services related to defense, in what will be Trump’s first decision of sort since assuming office in January, the report read.
Russia has repeatedly said that Western arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the resolution of the military conflict and make NATO countries a party to the crisis. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will be a legitimate target for the Russian military.
