No security guarantees: Kyiv examines raw materials deal and hopes for future US commitments

Ukraine wants to allow the USA access to its natural resources. However, the agreement that has now been drawn up does not contain any concrete security guarantees for the attacked country. The agreements are causing concern in Europe. Kiev is trying to calm the situation.

According to Kyiv Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine and the USA have put the finishing touches to the framework agreement on the joint use of Ukrainian raw materials. His government will soon be looking into the agreement, Shmyhal said on Ukrainian television. "In fact, a final version has been worked out." US President Donald Trump has already announced that the agreement will be signed during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington on Friday.

The agreement provides for the establishment of a Ukrainian-American fund, said Shmyhal. It should serve the use of Ukrainian natural resources such as rare earths and enable investments in the reconstruction of the country.

The Kiev leadership hopes that this agreement will keep the USA on Ukraine's side as an interested party. According to media reports, however, the agreement does not provide for any direct US guarantees for Ukraine's security against Russia. "We are not thinking of signing an agreement without security guarantees," said Shmyhal. However, the text states that the agreement is part of a future comprehensive peace and security solution for Ukraine. "And the US government supports Ukraine's efforts to obtain the security guarantees necessary for a lasting peace," said the Prime Minister.

Zelensky said that the question of security guarantees still had to be decided. However, the framework of the agreement had been agreed upon. Zelensky rejected an initial US draft of the agreement as unsuitable, earning him days of sharp criticism from Trump.

The developments are viewed with great concern in the EU. Experts in Brussels fear that a bad deal with the USA could lead to institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) having to limit or even stop lending to Ukraine, which is dependent on financial aid. The background to this is that the deal forced through by Trump would, depending on its design, have a negative impact on Ukraine's income and thus also on its creditworthiness.

The effects on Ukraine's EU accession process could also be dramatic, as only economically and financially stable states have a chance of being accepted. Brussels said that it would be necessary to look closely at what was signed. Ideally, the final agreement would not be as bad as earlier drafts suggested. A possible positive point in Brussels is that the deal could strengthen the USA's interest in a continued independent Ukraine and could ultimately act as a kind of security guarantee.