New Ukraine deal may get signed next week, says US Treasury chief

The Ukrainian government is reviewing a new partnership proposal from the US that could be signed next week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

“We have passed along a completed document for the economic partnership (that) is currently being reviewed by Ukrainians, and we hope to go to full discussions and perhaps even get signatures next week,” he said in an interview with Fox News.

Late on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed to the press that the US has offered Kyiv a new version of the minerals deal that extends beyond the framework agreed upon last month.

The proposed new deal follows a media brief by US President Donald Trump before Monday’s Cabinet meeting that an agreement will be “signed soon”.

The two countries were initially open to signing a deal back in February, but that was called off following a heated clash between Trump and Zelenskiy at the White House.

While details of the “new minerals deal” are undisclosed, Zelenskiy has confirmed the proposal does not include US involvement in its nuclear power sector, as Trump had suggested previously. All he could say was that the deal represents a “large, comprehensive agreement.”

One Ukrainian official told the Financial Times that Washington had brought up the nuclear issue in discussions but did not include it in the new proposal. Zelenskiy previously confirmed that the countries had conversations about the Zaporizhzhia power plant, which is Europe’s largest and now under Russian control, but talks did not go beyond that.

“Previously, we had a framework agreement, followed by the development of a full agreement. Now, the American side has proposed a grand agreement right away,” the Ukrainian President said on Tuesday.

A US Treasury spokesperson told Financial Times that “the United States remains committed to the quick conclusion of this vital agreement and to securing a lasting peace for both Ukraine and Russia.”

Under the previous framework, the minerals agreement would establish a fund to which Ukraine would contribute 50% of proceeds from the future profits of the extraction of state-owned natural resources.

News reports have suggested that Ukraine holds upwards of $10 trillion in mineral deposits, including those containing rare earth elements that are key raw materials in defense and high-tech applications. However, these deposits have yet to be internationally recognized as economically viable. Ukrainian data shows that the country has deposits of 22 of the 34 minerals identified by the EU as critical.