Technical Ukraine-US consultations on minerals deal to begin on 11 April

Technical consultations between Ukrainian and American teams on the mineral agreement will take place on Friday 11 April. Source: Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, during a press conference in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda Details: Stefanishyna stated that the technical consultations on the mineral agreement with the United States, involving teams from Ukraine's Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economy, will be held on 11 April in Washington.

When asked by a journalist to provide more details about the consultations, Stefanishyna said she could not comment at this stage.

"I am not in a position to review any details because the meeting will only take place tomorrow; I will be able to comment tomorrow," she said.

Meanwhile, Stefanishyna stressed that nothing in the agreement can be subject to negotiations with Ukraine "in a way that will undermine the existing commitments and obligations Ukraine has, including the financial ones, within the Ukraine Facility, macro-financial assistance and IMF cooperation".

Quote: "This is something that is not subjected to any negotiating format, and having said that, it means that appropriate adjustments have to be done to the format of the agreement later on." 

Background: 

• Following talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah on 11 March, the presidents of the United States and Ukraine reached an agreement on the development of Ukraine's critical mineral resources.
• Afterwards, Stefanishyna announced that the Kyiv-Washington framework agreement on mineral resources had been finalised and that Ukraine was ready to sign it at any time.
• On 24 March, US President Donald Trump announced that an agreement on rare earth metals would be signed with Ukraine "soon".
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that the United States had proposed to Ukraine a new draft of the mineral resources agreement, which would immediately include parliamentary ratification beyond the initial framework agreement.

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