Washington:
The US and Ukrainian officials met on the US proposal to gain access to Mineral Money of Ukraine on Friday, with the knowledge of the case, a source said, in view of the possibilities for a success, in view of the “anti -” environment of the meeting.
The strains in Washington spoke from the latest draft proposal of the Trump administration, which is more wide than the original version, the source said.
“The atmosphere of the conversation is very opposed to,” said the source pointing to the “Maximalist” draft presented by the Trump administration last month.
A spokesperson of the Treasury Department confirmed the discussion, called him “technical in nature”.
The latest draft will provide the US a privileged access to Ukraine’s mineral deposits and the exploitation of natural resources by Ukrainian state and private firms will require Kiev to keep all income in a joint investment fund.
The proposed deal, however, would not provide the US security guarantee to the UEV – Ukrainian President Volodimier Zelanceki’s top priority – captured some 20% of his region for his fight against Russian forces.
The source said that one of the “Easter Eggs” found in the document was US government’s International Development Finance Corporation takes control of a natural gas pipeline from Russian energy giant Gajprom in Ukraine.
The source said that the Ukrainian government has hired law firm Hogan Lavels as an external advisor on the mineral deal.
Zelansky said on Wednesday that a mineral deal should be profitable for both countries and can be structured in a way that will help modernize Ukraine.
Top Ukrainian officials including Prime Minister Dennis Shamihal and Finance Minister Seeri Marchco will be in Washington in two weeks for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings, including a meeting of Ukraine-Centenary Ministers on 25 April, several sources familiar with the plans said.
US President Donald Trump is demanding a deal covering Ukraine’s minerals, including the prized rare earth as part of his attempt to end the war and as a manner of recovering billions of dollars in US military aid to Kiev.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)