Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says a proposed deal with the United States on natural resources is a “framework,” and he will want to discuss the countries’ relationship further in person with President Donald Trump, as a draft of the text obtained by CNN shows it does not provide Kyiv explicit security guarantees.
With Trump bent on bringing Russia’s war to a swift end and recouping some of Washington’s financial aid to Kyiv, Zelensky is hoping that the natural resources deal can secure the US president’s future support, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine.
But the draft of the text seen by CNN, current as of Wednesday morning, said only that the United States “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace,” without making explicit commitments.
At a press conference in Kyiv, Zelensky conceded that the deal does not have “concrete steps on security guarantees” because these need to be decided jointly with the US and Europe.
The Ukrainian president said that the deal could be a “big success,” but emphasized that it only provides a “framework” that can be “part of future security guarantees,” which he hopes to discuss during his anticipated meeting with Trump. CNN reported Tuesday that the US and Ukraine agreed terms on the deal and Zelensky is expected to travel to Washington, DC, in the coming days, according to a Ukrainian official.
The full text of the deal, obtained by CNN, outlined the two countries’ plan to establish a jointly managed “Reconstruction Investment Fund.”
Under the deal, which has spaces for the signatures of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine will contribute to the fund 50% of all revenues earned from the future monetization of state-owned natural resources assets, including hydrocarbons, oil, and natural gas, as well as rare earth minerals.
“For the avoidance of doubt, such future sources of revenues do not include the current sources of revenues which are already part of the general budget revenues of Ukraine,” the draft text reads.
The fund will aim to “attract investments to increase the development, processing, and monetization of all public and private Ukrainian assets,” including its oil and gas and rare earth sectors, the draft text said.
The fund will be managed by representatives of the United States and Ukraine, and “more detailed terms pertaining to the Fund’s governance and operation will be set forth in a subsequent agreement” to be negotiated after the initial deal is signed, according to the draft.
Many Ukrainians have been unsettled by reports that Kyiv is set to grant Washington access to Ukraine’s natural resources, while the Trump administration has been vague about what it will offer in return.
Oleksandra Zdorenko, a pensioner, told CNN Ukrainians were “outraged” when the US first proposed the deal, demanding a $500 billion share of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals, which Zelensky rejected, saying this would amount to “selling” his country.
“We didn’t understand how they could even offer us such a deal. Now it seems to me that some of the conditions have changed,” Zdorenko said. “I fully trust our government and our president. So much has already been done for Ukraine that they will not do anything to harm it now.”
At a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Zelensky would not sign “or even consider any enslaving or colonial treaties that would not take into account the interests” of Ukraine, saying that the draft agreement lays the foundation for Ukraine’s “future recovery.”
Ukraine ‘grateful’ for US support
Zelensky also said in the press conference that Ukraine will not repay money given to it by the US as part of the natural resources deal.
“I will not accept [even] 10 cents of debt repayment in this deal. Otherwise, it will be a precedent,” he said Wednesday.
Trump had said over the weekend that he is “trying to get the money back” that the Biden administration had given to Ukraine to help it repel Russia’s invasion. Trump falsely claimed that the US has given Ukraine $350 billion since February 2022. The actual figure is around $120 billion, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Trump also falsely claimed that Europe’s support for Ukraine was “in the form of a loan.”
“They get their money back. We gave it in the form of nothing. So I want them to give us something for all of the money that we’ve put up,” Trump said, saying the US had been made to feel “stupid.”
When Trump repeated this claim during talks with Emmanuel Macron on Monday, the French president grabbed Trump’s arm to correct him.
“No, in fact, to be frank, we paid. We paid 60% of the total effort. It was like the US: loans, guarantees, grants,” Macron said.
Speaking Wednesday, Zelensky said Ukraine remained “grateful” for US support, but that he will be “very direct” and ask Trump “if the United States will stop support [for Ukraine] or not.”
If the US does not provide more aid, Zelensky said Ukraine could “buy weapons directly” from the US, suggesting that frozen Russian assets – amounting to some $300 billion – could be used to fund the purchases.
