The United States is offering Ukraine new terms for cooperation, which include control of the Druzhba gas pipeline, which runs through Ukraine and supplies gas to Europe. If Kyiv agrees to these terms, responsibility for the pipeline will be placed with the International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is controlled by the US government. Negotiations on this issue took place on April 11 in Washington, and, according to Reuters, they were extremely tense, with the parties having significant disagreements.
This step is part of a draft agreement on Ukraine's mineral resources. The American side insists that if it is approved, it will receive privileged access to Ukrainian deposits, including mining and infrastructure investments. Among other important points of the draft is Ukraine's obligation to direct all revenues from resource extraction (both state and private companies) to a joint investment fund. This approach will allow the United States to control the profits from these resources until Ukraine returns an amount that is "at least equivalent to the assistance provided by the United States.".
The United States also demands control over important energy infrastructure, including the Druzhba gas pipeline, which is strategic for supplying energy to Europe. According to Reuters sources, negotiations between representatives of Ukraine and the United States have been held in an atmosphere of deep tension, and Kyiv has not yet made a final decision on signing the agreement.
However, it is worth noting that the new agreement does not provide direct security guarantees for Ukraine from the US. This leaves open the question of what role Washington will play in further protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity, given that the terms of the agreement imply a high economic and strategic dependence on the United States.
As The New York Times notes, the new version of the agreement contains even stricter conditions than previous drafts and is aimed at increasing American influence over Ukrainian resources and the economy. This issue has already sparked serious discussions among politicians and economists in Ukraine, who question the feasibility of such steps, given the growing dependence on foreign powers.
