Ukraine aims to 'align' with US on minerals deal in talks this week

(Reuters) - Ukraine will send a team to Washington this week to move forward with negotiations on a more expansive draft for a minerals deal offered by the United States, the deputy prime minister said on Monday.

"We aim to align on project selection, legal frameworks, and long-term investment mechanisms," Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.

The U.S. administration wants Kyiv to agree to give it an huge stake in Ukraine's future mineral income. President Donald Trump sees it as a way to get back billions of aid for Ukraine's fight against Russia. Kyiv is anxious to maintain the support of its ally but wary of signing away its future wealth.

In late March, Washington presented Kyiv with a revised draft significantly broader than an earlier version that had been agreed.

Svyrydenko said the dialogue with the U.S. reflects the countries' strategic interests and "our shared commitment to building a strong, transparent partnership".

The Ukrainian delegation to Washington will include representatives of the economy, foreign, justice and finance ministries, she added.

Kyiv officials have been cautious about commenting on the draft, a summary of which suggested the U.S. was demanding all Ukraine's natural resources income for years.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Kyiv would not recognise past U.S. aid as loans that must be repaid, or agree to a deal that threatened its future integration with the EU.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Gareth Jones and Peter Graff)