Colby Badhwar
Nine months after first proposing a partnership with the United States to invest in Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, President Zelenskyy finally has his deal. To call the journey to this point a trip on a bumpy road would be an understatement.
Despite the idea’s origin during the Biden administration, Ukraine’s government decided to wait until President Trump had been inaugurated to sign the April 30 deal.
The rationale was obvious; they would be dealing with him for the next four years, and what better way to get into his good graces than to agree to a big business agreement? Moreover, had it been signed by President Biden, the deal’s chances of survival without renegotiation would have been low.
It was a tough process. While Zelenskyy may have hoped for a quick conclusion, it has instead been a difficult three months, which saw US-Ukrainian relations pushed close to breaking point.
And yet, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. With their deal in hand, there is a path forward towards a new model of cooperation between the two countries. It will be a much more transactional relationship, but President Trump was unlikely to ever continue supporting Ukraine out of goodwill alone. He needs to show the United States is getting something tangible in return, and this agreement establishes a framework for that.
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