Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky file photo:Xinhua

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Wednesday that Kiev and Washington have finalized a partnership agreement on minerals,mk the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.

The document, formally entitled The Agreement on Establishing the Rules and Conditions of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine, is "directly linked" to security guarantees, without which Kiev does not consider signing the deal, Shmyhal said.

Under the agreement, Ukraine and the United States will establish a joint fund, financed by the revenue from Ukraine's minerals rent, licenses and dividends. The fund will be used to support Ukraine's development, restoration and security, he noted.

A Ukrainian official with knowledge of the matter said president Volodymyr Zelensky was planning to travel to Washington on Friday to see US President Donald Trump and formalize the deal, Financial Times report.

Negotiations have been ongoing for days over a deal that could grant the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals as part of wider negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as US involvement in a reconstruction fund for Ukraine, CNN reported on Tuesday. 

A major sticking point had been a demand from the Trump administration to a $500 billion share of Ukraine's rare earths and other minerals in exchange for the aid the US had already provided Kiev, which was previously rejected by Zelensky, according to CNN. 

Ukrainian officials said Kiev was ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500 billion in potential revenue from the deal, reported Financial Times.

The US has not confirmed whether the terms of a deal have been agreed, according to CNN. 

"I hear that (Zelensky is) coming on Friday. Certainly it's OK with me if he'd like to, and he would like to sign it together with me. And I understand that's a big deal, very big deal," US President Donald Trump said from the Oval Office on Tuesday, per CNN. Asked what Ukraine would receive in the mineral deal, Trump said: "$350 billion and lots of equipment, military equipment, and the right to fight on."

Zelensky had repeatedly pressed for security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for mineral rights. 

Zelensky has said earlier that he is not willing to cave in to intense US pressure to sign a $500 billion mineral deal, the Guardian reported on Sunday. During a press conference ahead of the third anniversary of the conflict, the Ukrainian President said the figure was far higher than the US's actual military contribution of $100 billion. 

"What we can tell is that Ukraine is dissatisfied with the mineral deal, but eventually it may have to sign," Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday, noting that Ukraine hopes to exchange resources for security.

"Ukraine may still have to sign, however, because Kiev believes that if it doesn't, it could lead to an abrupt break in relations with the Trump administration. For Ukraine, US support is now indispensable," Zhang said. 

Europe's interest 

The European Union proposed an agreement with Ukraine Monday on "critical materials", a top official said, promising a "win-win" deal. The European Commissioner for industrial strategy, Stephane Sejourne, said he had suggested a different potential deal to Ukrainian officials during a visit to Kiev with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, the AFP reported. 

However, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier denied on Tuesday that the EU had allegedly offered Ukraine its own deal on minerals, Ukrainian media outlet Kyiv Independent reported. 

Commenting on this change, Zhang noted that although the EU's deal may be fairer than the US', it comes too late and the US has already taken the lead, plus the EU has previously criticized the US deal, which made EU's proposal also unappealing. 

German Chancellor Scholz has sharply criticized US President Donald Trump's proposal, calling the move "very egotistic, very self-centered," Politico reported on February 4. 

In the context of the intensifying scramble for critical mineral resources, there are few regions as resource-rich and complete as eastern Ukraine, and each mineral holds significant strategic value, Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, said on Wednesday. 

The competition between the US and Europe for Ukraine's resources highlights that Ukraine, as a resource-rich country, has made its resources a key tool in its foreign policy and security strategy, Zhang noted.

"However, does signing an agreement guarantee Ukraine's security? From the current perspective, it seems that Trump administration is more focused on US-Russia strategic stability, easing tensions between the US and Russia, and the US pivoting its strategic focus from Europe to Asia," Zhang said.

From this angle, Ukraine signing the agreement simply prevents a complete deterioration in US-Ukraine relations or a total break, which only maintains a fragile form of US support for Ukraine, Zhang said.