A telephone call took place between American presidents Donald Trump and Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyïv announced Thursday evening, after the ratification by the Ukrainian parliament of the agreement with Washington on the exploitation of Ukraine’s natural resources.
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The telephone call went “very good”, said a senior official of the Ukrainian presidency at AFP.
According to this official, the conversation, in English, lasted about twenty minutes and had as main subjects “diplomacy and ceasefire” that Washington and Kyïv try to establish on the front against the Russian army. The two leaders, according to this source, also mentioned the mineral agreement ratified Thursday by the Ukrainian Parliament.
Zelensky said after his telephone call to his American counterpart Donald Trump that Ukraine was “ready” to lead “all negotiation formats” with Moscow to find a way out of the conflict triggered by the Russian invasion.
“But for this to happen, Russia must show that it seriously wants to finish the war, starting with a complete and unables-free ceasefire,” continued the Ukrainian president, in a message published on social networks.
Earlier Thursday, the Ukrainian Parliament ratified this mineral agreement, signed with the United States after weeks of stormy negotiations and which could, according to Kyïv, pave the way for new American military aid.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky considered that this text already opened a “new chapter” in relations between Kyïv et Washington.
“Currently (the agreement) is a solid basis for safety cooperation and, in the long term, it offers Ukraine and the United States the opportunity to expand mutually beneficial economic collaboration,” added Mr. Zelensky, in a message published on social networks.
This document concerns the extraction of minerals, petroleum and gas – 57 types of resources in total in Ukraine, which has been facing the Russian invasion for more than three years.
-According to deputies, 338 parliamentarians voted in favor of this text, the minimum required being 226.
However, it does not include security guarantees for Kyïv, which nevertheless insisted on this condition.
“This agreement offers the possibility of benefiting from a new military aid (…) from the American administration,” said the Minister of the Economy Ioulia Svyrydenko on X qualifying the text “as history”.
Donald Trump’s administration announced his intention to quickly arrest war between Ukraine and Russia and his relations were warmed spectacularly with Moscow, raising the end of the crucial American support in Kyïv.
The bilateral agreement had been signed at the end of April after weeks of tensions between Kyïv And Washington, who had culminated during an altercation between MM. Trump and Zelensky in the oval office in Washington at the end of February.
Contrary to what Mr. Trump initially wanted, the document does not plan to count Ukraine’s debt to the United States, the American aid granted by his predecessor Joe Biden since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.
“The agreement does not mention any debt, but only new investments. And it is very important that these investments are made in Ukraine, ”said Ms. Svyrydenko on X.
The agreement does not include security guarantees, but offers “an opportunity to put pressure on Russia, as this shows that the United States is ready to protect its partnership and interest. These are not only my feelings, these are the words of the White House, ”she said.
The text, on the other hand, provides that the new American military aid can be recorded as a contribution to a Ukrain-American investment fund, the Minister recalled.
This fund for the “reconstruction” of Ukraine, ravaged by more than three years of war, will be funded and managed in equal parts by both parties.
The Ukrainian contribution will be made up of 50% of the royalties drawn from new licenses issued for the exploitation of natural resources, according to Kyïv.
