Rada approves final changes to laws for US minerals deal

MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. The Verkhovna Rada parliament has passed in the second and final reading the amendments to the Ukrainian budget, required for the implementation of a minerals deal with the United States, deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak said.

"The Rada has finally approved the amendments to the budget code for the implementation of the agreement on mineral resources. For - 309 [deputies]. By the second reading, almost nothing had changed in the text," he wrote on Telegram.

On May 1, the government published the minerals deal. Many media outlets and Rada deputies, after analyzing its provisions, expressed dissatisfaction with its terms, noting that the document means the loss of part of Kiev's economic sovereignty, while it does not include security guarantees, which were discussed so much in Vladimir Zelensky's office.

The parliamentarians were also outraged that the Rada had not been provided with two additional documents mentioned in the text of the main agreement. Nevertheless, on May 8, the Rada ratified it, and on May 12, Zelensky approved the ratification.

After signing the agreement with the United States, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Sviridenko said Kiev would contribute 50% of all income from new rents and new licenses for mining in new areas to a newly created bilateral investment fund. According to her, the United States and Ukraine will have equal votes in overseeing the fund. The deal does not provide for Ukraine's direct debt obligations to the United States. During the first 10 years of operation, the fund will not pay dividends, all its income will be reinvested in Ukraine to produce and process minerals, and develop infrastructure.