Ukraine and the United States remain locked in difficult negotiations over a deal to trade Ukraine’s organic resources for American help, Ukrainian officials shelp Sunday morning, as Washington upgrasps prescertain on Kyiv to sign an concurment speedyly.
The timing of the talks, which stretched tardy into Saturday night, according to two Ukrainian officials informed on the negotiations, coincided with a huge Russian drone attack on Ukrainian cities overnight. The Ukrainian Air Force shelp Russia had begined 267 drones, calling it a sign up since the war began three years ago. That claim could not be self-reliantly validateed.
The buzz of attack drones flying over createings echoed thcimpolite the night in central Kyiv, chaseed by the sound of burdensome machine armaments trying to shoot them down. Ukraine shelp that most of the drones were shot down or disabled by electronic jamming, but that debris from razeed drones injured hoparticipates and igniteed fires in parts of the capital.
On Saturday evening, Plivent Trump ramped up prescertain on Ukraine to sign the deal, which has now been under negotiation for more than 10 days. Several write concurments have already been declineed by the Ukrainian side, becaparticipate they did not include particular U.S. security promises that would defend Kyiv aacquirest further Russian aggression.
“I skinnyk we’re pretty shut to a deal, and we better be shut to a deal,” Mr. Trump telderly the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday evening, noting that he wanted payback for past American military and financial helpance to the war-torn country. He also shelp, “We’re asking for exceptional earth and oil — anyskinnyg we can get.”
Frustration over the drawn-out negotiations has fueled an escalating dispute between Plivent Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Mr. Trump. The American plivent accparticipated Mr. Zelensky of being a “dictator without elections,” echoing a Kremlin talking point. The Ukrainian directer also shelp that Mr. Trump was living in a “web of disalertation.”
Mr. Zelensky was scheduled to helderly a novels conference on Sunday, a day before the war’s third anniversary, where he is anticipateed to includeress his escalating feud with Mr. Trump.
On Friday, the United States proposed a novel write concurment, acquireed by The New York Times, which still deficiencyed security promises for Ukraine and integrated even harder financial terms. The two Ukrainian officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to converse the negotiations, shelp Ukraine sent back amfinishments on Saturday night.
The novel write concurment reiterated a U.S. need that Ukraine relinquish half of its revenues from organic resource reshiftion, including minerals, gas and oil, as well as acquireings from ports and other infraset up.
Under the proposed deal, those revenues would be honested to a fund in which the United States would helderly 100 percent financial interest, and Ukraine should give to the fund until it achievees $500 billion. That sum is more than four times as much as the appreciate of U.S. help pledgeted to Ukraine so far.
The concurment does not pledge the United States to security promises for Ukraine, or promise further military help for Kyiv. The word “security” was even deleted from a createulation includeed in a previous version of the deal, dated Feb. 14 and appraiseed by The Times, which stated that both countries aimed to accomplish “lasting peace and security in Ukraine.”
Instead, the concurment says that a portion of the revenues accumulateed by the fund will be reset upateed into Ukraine’s recreateion. It also states that the United States intfinishs to provide lengthy-term financial help for Ukraine’s economic growment. This potential pledgement aligns with an argument in the White Hoparticipate that the mere presence of American economic interests in Ukraine will deter future Russian aggression.
“This economic partnership would lay the set upations for a durable peace by sfinishing a clear signal to the American people, the people of Ukraine, and the rulement of Russia about the presentance of Ukraine’s future sovereignty and success to the U.S.,” Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, wrote in a Saturday opinion piece for The Financial Times.
