Latest news with #mineralsdeal
Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Zelensky appoints dealmaker PM after purge of tainted ministers
The woman who clinched Ukraine's controversial minerals deal with President Trump became its prime minister on Thursday. Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, is the second female premier in the country's history, as well as its second youngest. She replaces Denys Shmyhal, 49, in a sweeping reshuffle designed by President Zelensky to shore up support from international partners while retaining old-guard loyalists. As minister for the economy, Svyrydenko won praise for negotiating the deal with the US and leading a delegation at last week's Ukraine Recovery Conference that won pledges of billions of dollars in support from the country's allies. She is expected to build on good relations with Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, to steady Kyiv's rollercoaster alliance with the White House. 'She's young, dynamic, and has experience having difficult talks with the US and other governments,' said Oleskiy Haran, a professor in politics at the Kyiv-Mohyla academy, Ukraine's leading university. 'She has experience with this agreement on critical minerals, which wasn't easy.'
Al Jazeera
08-05-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine's parliament ratifies landmark minerals deal with US
Ukrainian legislators have unanimously voted to ratify a minerals deal with the United States in the hope of securing military assistance to deter future Russian aggression. The country's parliament gave its assent to the agreement, which grants the US priority access to Ukrainian minerals and sets up an investment fund for Ukraine's reconstruction, with 338 members voting in favour and none against it. Ukraine's First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Thursday that the deal, which stops short of offering security guarantees but has raised hopes of revived US support, was 'the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner'. The Ukrainian Parliament has ratified the historic Economic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the United States. This document is not merely a legal construct — it is the foundation of a new model of interaction with a key strategic partner. — Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) May 8, 2025The deal, signed by the US and Ukraine at the end of April, was approved despite legislators' concerns over a lack of detail regarding issues such as how the reconstruction fund will be governed and how contributions will be made. In a news conference earlier that day, Svyrydenko had sought to assuage these concerns, indicating the deal would be operational in a few weeks. 'We have managed to ensure that the agreement is equitable. The key principle is that management is 50-50. Neither side has an advantage, there is no dictatorship from either side, and decisions are taken by consensus,' she said. Svyrydenko underlined on X that the deal has no 'debt provisions', absolving Ukraine from earlier US demands that it cover the repayment of billions of dollars in military aid supplied by Washington since Russia invaded in February 2022. Ukraine managed to obtain the concession despite getting off to a bad start in negotiations back in February, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed with US President Donald Trump during a testy Oval Office sit-down. Kyiv was initially hoping the US would provide security guarantees to help deter future Russian attacks, in exchange for preferential access to Ukraine's mineral resources. But Washington refused, instead arguing that boosting its business interests in Ukraine would itself act as a bulwark against Russia.
Al Jazeera
05-03-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Security official confirms US cut intelligence sharing with Ukraine
US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said that the US 'had taken a step back' with sharing intelligence with Ukraine, adding that the two countries were engaged in talks to move forward a minerals deal. Published On 5 Mar 2025
