Ukraine Says Pact Signed with US Is First Step Towards Minerals Deal

Ukrainian First Deputy Prime and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko speaks with Reuters, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko speaks with Reuters, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says Pact Signed with US Is First Step Towards Minerals Deal

Ukrainian First Deputy Prime and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko speaks with Reuters, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Ukrainian First Deputy Prime and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko speaks with Reuters, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Ukraine said on Thursday Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by US President Donald Trump.

Although both had been poised in February to sign a deal for cooperation on natural resources, it was delayed after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy turned into a shouting match.

"We are happy to announce the signing with our American partners," Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime minister and economy minister, said on social media after the signing.

Thursday's memorandum of intent paves the way for an economic partnership deal and the setting-up of an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, she added.

The signing comes after officials in Kyiv worked to repair ties following the Oval Office episode, recognizing that Ukraine needs US support in its war with Russia, which mounted a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The minerals deal is part of that effort, officials in Ukraine have said.

Trump said the accord itself could be signed next week, though the Ukrainian side gave no indication of when it expected to conclude the full deal.

A Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington at the end of last week for talks after the United States offered a new, more expansive deal. An initial framework pact was agreed, but has never been signed.

"We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday," Trump told reporters at the White House earlier.

He has pushed for a compact that gives the United States privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided under former President Joe Biden.

"We're still working on the details," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, seated beside Trump in the Oval Office, adding that the signing could come by next Friday.

"It's substantially what we'd agreed on previously," he said. "When the president was here, we had a memorandum of understanding. We went straight to the big deal, and I think it's an 80-page agreement and that's what we'll be signing."

The White House did not respond to a request for further details on the timing and contents of the agreement.

Zelenskiy had said both sides could sign the memorandum online.

"This is a memorandum of intent. And we have positive, constructive intentions," he told reporters in Kyiv, adding that the US side had made the offer to sign the memorandum before the comprehensive deal, which would require ratification by Ukraine's parliament.

Earlier, Svyrydenko said the memorandum was the first stage to record the significant progress made by Kyiv and Washington in discussing the agreement.



Masked Rioters Attack Highway in Central France

Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
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Masked Rioters Attack Highway in Central France

Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

Dozens of masked assailants wielding metal bars and Molotov cocktails attacked cars on a highway and clashed with police Saturday in the city of Limoges in central France, officials said.

The overnight clashes left 10 police wounded, according to authorities, who said they suspect a gang turf war.

The unrest came in the middle of France's summer tourism season.

The armed attackers descended on the RN141 highway and tried to block it during a battle with police, according to officials.

"There were between 100 and 150 masked individuals, armed with Molotov cocktails, fireworks, stones, iron bars and baseball bats," local police union leader Laurent Nadeau told AFP.

Police responded with tear gas and crowd-control munitions.

Mayor Emile Roger Lombertie called the rioters an "urban guerrilla group".

"They're organized, structured, there's a plan, weapons," he said.

"This was not a spontaneous protest to complain about something. No pretext, nothing. It's about destroying things and showing the territory belongs to you," Lombertie added.

Prosecutors said vehicles were attacked but there were no immediate reports of wounded drivers.

Unrest had erupted nearby, in Val de l'Aurence, on the night of July 14, France's national day.

Lombertie said this "very poor neighborhood, with young people from immigrant backgrounds" had become a "lawless zone".

France's interior ministry announced on Saturday plans to deploy a special security force to the city.