Mineral deal doesn't provide security guarantees, but it's a good deal – US diplomat

The mineral deal between Ukraine and the United States does not provide security guarantees, but it is a good deal for the benefit of both countries. American diplomat Michael Carpenter, former US Permanent Representative to the OSCE (2021-2024), told LIGA.net on the sidelines of the Kyiv Security Forum.

"I think it was wise of the Ukrainian government to renegotiate the minerals deal. I think the initial text that was proposed by the U.S. administration was very exploitative in nature and almost, one could say, colonial in its ambitions," Carpenter said.

He noted that the text of the treaty, ratified by the Verkhovna Rada on May 8, is "much better" than the initial version, as it allows for equal exploitation of critical minerals.

At the same time, the diplomat believes that claims about what can be achieved through this agreement are exaggerated.

"I don't think there's going to be a lot of investments from Western mining companies in Ukraine in the near term. Potentially in the three to five to ten year time frame, long after this [US] administration is gone, you could see potentially something coming from this.," Carpenter said.

However, he stressed that the concluded document "does not offer any kind of security guarantees," and those trying to sell it as a security agreement "are simply making not a credible argument."

"There is no security guarantee here. It's just simply an agreement to jointly exploit Ukraine's resources for the benefit of both countries. And that's fine. That is a good agreement," Carpenter concluded.

• In March, before the signing of the agreement, US President Trump spread the idea that the presence of American specialists in Ukraine would allegedly prevent dictator Putin from carrying out a new attack.

• In May, after the document was signed, Secretary of State Rubio stated that the resource agreement was a step towards ending the Russian-Ukrainian war. At the same time, US Treasury Secretary Bessent claimed that with this document, Trump "dealt" his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy a royal flush that he could show to the Russian leadership.