Ukrainian deputy premier confirms signing minerals deal with US

Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has confirmed the signing of the minerals deal with the US in a post on Facebook, Report informs via TASS.

The agreement envisages the creation of a joint investment fund. According to the document, Ukraine will bring into the fund 50% of all incomes generated by new licenses for extracting minerals at new areas. The United States and Ukraine will have equal votes in managing the fund. The agreement envisages no direct Ukrainian liabilities to the United States.

US military aid to Kyiv, including air defense systems, may be counted as its contribution into the fund.

The agreement applies to all natural resources mined on Ukraine’s territory, including oil and gas. The country’s state-run mining and processing companies will remain the property of the Ukrainian government.

For the first ten years of its operation, the fund will pay no dividends, and all its income will be reinvested in projects exclusively on the territory of Ukraine, including for prospecting and processing of mineral resources and infrastructure development. The agreement will require changes to Ukraine’s budget and is yet to be ratified by the country’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada.

According to Svyrydenko, the agreement does not contradict Ukraine’s obligations as part of the EU accession process.