KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s prime minister told parliament on Friday that two of the three documents related to a minerals deal with the United States would not need to be ratified, lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine and the U.S. signed a deal on Wednesday that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
The agreement, heavily promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump, is central to Kyiv’s efforts to mend ties with the White House, its main military backer in its war against Russian invasion, which frayed after Trump took office in January.
Ukraine’s cabinet registered a bill to ratify the minerals deal with the U.S. late on Thursday, according to the parliamentary database.
Ukraine aims to ratify it within the next few weeks, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told an online briefing on Thursday:
“We want to ratify it as soon as possible. So we plan to do it within the coming weeks.”
Zheleznyak said that Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal had told parliament that the two additional documents cover details of implementation and will not need a parliamentary vote to ratify them.
(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Mark Potter and Kevin Liffey)
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