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A draft of an agreement calling for Ukraine to hand over to the United States revenue from natural resources includes new language referring to security guarantees, a provision Kyiv had pressed for vigorously in negotiations. But the reference is vague and does not signal any specific American commitment to safeguarding Ukraine’s security.
The agreement is seen as opening the door to possible continued backing from the United States under the Trump administration, either as aid for the war effort or as enforcement of any cease-fire. Officials in the United States and Ukraine said on Tuesday that a version had been accepted by both sides.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, said that including mention of security guarantees had been a priority for him in negotiations and was necessary for Ukraine to call the deal successful.
The Trump administration resisted Ukraine’s request for a commitment to security guarantees, arguing that such guarantees were implied in Washington’s holding a financial interest in Ukrainian metal ores, minerals, oil and natural gas, and that such an agreement would provide an incentive to prevent Russian occupation of the resources.
The draft from Tuesday included earlier phrasing that the United States would take “steps to protect mutual investments,” implying an American commitment to safeguard the sites of resource deposits, some of which are close to front lines.
It was unclear if the new phrasing suggested support for American security guarantees or support for Ukraine’s ongoing diplomatic effort to shore up backing for a European peacekeeping mission and other assurances to safeguard a possible cease-fire.
The British prime minister, Keir Starmer, is scheduled to travel to Washington on Wednesday to present to Mr. Trump a European initiative to field a 30,000-strong peacekeeping force. European leaders have said such a force would nonetheless require an American “backstop” of military assistance, such as American satellite surveillance, air defense or air force support.
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