 "US President Donald Trump shouts at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during their interaction with the press at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2025. Reuters File")
The Donald Trump administration of the United States appears to have softened the stance on the minerals deal with Ukraine.
In the latest version of the deal being negotiated, the Trump administration appears to have agreed to not treat the aid to Ukraine so far as debt that needs to be repaid, according to reports.
While neither US nor Ukrainian officials have confirmed it on the record, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed “good progress” in the deals and that suggests Trump has toned down his maximalist demands.
Previously, Trump had demanded total control of Ukraine’s energy and other natural resources and an interest of 4 per cent on repayment of US aid so far. The demands were widely condemned for being predatory that would have reduced Ukraine to a US colony.
“The basic legal stuff is almost finalised, and then, if everything moves as quickly and constructively, the agreement will bring economic results to both our countries,” said Zelenskyy on Wednesday.
US drops key demand but hurdles remain
A senior official familiar with the negotiations told AFP that newer drafts of the US-Ukraine minerals deal appear to not recognise the US aid to Ukraine as debt that would need to be repaid.
However, some major hurdles still remain in the finalisation of the deal, according to reports.
For one, the Trump administration wants the aid to Ukraine so far, around $90 billion, to be treated as a contribution to the joint fund that would be created to manage Ukraine’s natural resources, according to Bloomberg.
Essentially, this would mean that Ukraine would have to put most of the money into the fund.
Ukraine has “struggled” to talk the Trump administration out of that approach, “which has underpinned several of the most draconian demands from Washington”, according to Bloomberg.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSeparately, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that the minerals deal could be signed as early as this week.
No security guarantees on the table
Like previous versions of the minerals deal, there are no security guarantees on the deal.
Instead, Trump has returned to the familiar bashing of Zelenskyy and Ukraine with his lies.
Earlier this week, Trump falsely said that Zelenskyy had started the war with Russia. On the other hand, he dismissed the Russian attack in a Ukrainian city that killed more than 30 people as a “mistake”.
While the Trump administration has pitched the minerals deal as a de facto security guarantee, critics have seen the deal’s harsh demands as predatory that would reduce Ukraine’s sovereign rights over its natural resources and put the country in a tough spot where it may have to be choose between subjugation by Russia or colonisation by the United States.