Ukraine says pact signed with U.S. is first step towards minerals deal

KYIV/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Thursday Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Although both had been poised in February to sign a deal for cooperation on natural resources, it was delayed after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned into a shouting match.

"We are happy to announce the signing with our American partners," Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economy minister, said on social media after the signing.

Thursday's memorandum of intent paves the way for an economic partnership deal and the setting-up of an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, she added.

The signing comes after officials in Kyiv worked to repair ties following the Oval Office episode, recognising that Ukraine needs U.S. support in its war with Russia, which mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The minerals deal is part of that effort, officials in Ukraine have said.

Trump said the accord itself could be signed next week, though the Ukrainian side gave no indication of when it expected to conclude the full deal.

A Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington at the end of last week for talks after the United States offered a new, more expansive deal. An initial framework pact was agreed, but has never been signed.

"We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday," Trump told reporters at the White House earlier.

He has pushed for a compact that gives the United States privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided under former President Joe Biden.

"We're still working on the details," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, seated beside Trump in the Oval Office, adding that the signing could come by next Friday.

"It's substantially what we'd agreed on previously," he said. "When the president was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went straight to the big deal, and I think it's an 80-page agreement and that's what we'll be signing."

The White House did not respond to a request for further details on the timing and contents of the agreement.

Zelenskiy had said both sides could sign the memorandum online.

"This is a memorandum of intent. And we have positive, constructive intentions," he told reporters in Kyiv, adding that the U.S. side had made the offer to sign the memorandum before the comprehensive deal, which would require ratification by Ukraine's parliament.

Earlier, Svyrydenko said the memorandum was the first stage to record the significant progress made by Kyiv and Washington in discussing the agreement.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv, Angelo Amante and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Rod Nickel and Clarence Fernandez)