Ukraine-US minerals deal the first diplomatic balancing act for Kyiv

When Ukraine and the US finally agreed on the framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, it felt like a major de-escalation between the two countries. 

And while it is the first step towards an even broader agreement, one should not underestimate its diplomatic importance, says Yuliia Pavytska, Manager of the Sanctions Programme at the Kyiv School of Economics. 

Pavytska told Euronews that when Washington previously stated that the Trump administration wants to achieve peace through power, Kyiv did not expect that this approach would be translated into power over Kyiv and not Moscow.

“Nobody could actually foresee the scale, how things would turn out with this deal, and that the deal we received to be signed would be a completely barbaric deal that just forces Ukraine to give away its resources, and unexpectedly turn all the aid that was previously provided in terms of grants to a loan. The first draft was not in favour of Ukrainian interests and questioned Ukrainian sovereignty.”

Pavytska says Kyiv made “tremendous progress” in amending the agreement as much possible in order to better “serve Ukraine interests” and provide more “balance.”

For Ukraine, this balancing act becomes even more complicated given it also includes commitments by Kyiv to the European Union. 

Pavytska says it’s important that the high level agreement with the US “doesn’t contradict or violate any agreements or anything that was already signed with the EU.”

“The European Union is our one of the key partners, strategic partners. It was, is and will be,” she told Euronews. She also added that the Ukrainian government is working on strengthening its cooperation with the EU in order to assure Brussels that Kyiv is “committed to making progress with the EU integration process.”

The fact that the whole agreement needs to be ratified in parliament is also “a kind of a security helmet” for Ukraine, she said, in order to make müddet other agreements do not contradict those that Kyiv has in place with the EU.

Earlier this week, Euronews reported that the Trump administration aims to ensure that any bilateral deal guaranteeing Ukraine’s security in exchange for a share in its mineral wealth will take precedence over obligations Kyiv may have towards other allies, including the EU.