Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has hailed the long-discussed minerals deal with the US as “historic”, and suggested it had been much improved during those talks to now become “an equal partnership”. In his nightly address, he said: “The agreement has changed significantly during the preparation process. It is now truly an equal partnership – one that creates opportunities for substantial investment in Ukraine, as well as significant modernisation of Ukraine’s industries and, equally importantly, its legal practices.” He said the deal was the result of a “meaningful meeting” with Donald Trump at the Vatican on the fringes of Pope Francis’s funeral service and that he looks forward to the further results arising from that meeting.
The Trump administration will approve its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Trump took office, in an indication that the minerals deal signed by the two countries this week may open a path to renewed weapons shipments. The state department has certified a proposed licence to export “$50m or more” of defence hardware and services to Ukraine, according to a communication sent to the US committee on foreign relations. Trump paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office.
The state department announced a 30-year veteran of the foreign service to run the US embassy in Kyiv “during this critical moment as we move toward a peace agreement to stop the bloodshed”. The appointment of Julie Davis, now the US ambassador to Cyprus, was announced the day after the minerals deal was signed. She has previously served as ambassador to Belarus and deputy ambassador to Nato. She replaces Bridget Brink, who announced she was leaving the post last month as the Trump administration pushed ahead with plans for peace talks that many believed favoured Moscow.
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday that the European Union was preparing a 17th round of sanctions against Russia, describing Vladimir Putin as the “sole obstacle” to peace in Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc has hit Russia with multiple rounds of sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine and said earlier this year that it would not lift them before the “unconditional” withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from its neighbour. “We Europeans will accompany this American [sanctions] initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I committed yesterday to [US senator] Lindsey Graham that we would try to coordinate both the substance and the timing of these two packages of sanctions,” Barrot told AFP in an interview.
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Zelensky hails the partnership with United States.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has hailed the long-discussed minerals deal with the US as “historic”, and suggested it had been much improved during those talks to now become “an equal partnership”. In his nightly address, he said: “The agreement has changed significantly during the preparation process. It is now truly an equal partnership – one that creates opportunities for substantial investment in Ukraine, as well as significant modernisation of Ukraine’s industries and, equally importantly, its legal practices.” He said the deal was the result of a “meaningful meeting” with Donald Trump at the Vatican on the fringes of Pope Francis’s funeral service and that he looks forward to the further results arising from that meeting.
The Trump administration will approve its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Trump took office, in an indication that the minerals deal signed by the two countries this week may open a path to renewed weapons shipments. The state department has certified a proposed licence to export “$50m or more” of defence hardware and services to Ukraine, according to a communication sent to the US committee on foreign relations. Trump paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office.
The state department announced a 30-year veteran of the foreign service to run the US embassy in Kyiv “during this critical moment as we move toward a peace agreement to stop the bloodshed”. The appointment of Julie Davis, now the US ambassador to Cyprus, was announced the day after the minerals deal was signed. She has previously served as ambassador to Belarus and deputy ambassador to Nato. She replaces Bridget Brink, who announced she was leaving the post last month as the Trump administration pushed ahead with plans for peace talks that many believed favoured Moscow.
French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday that the European Union was preparing a 17th round of sanctions against Russia, describing Vladimir Putin as the “sole obstacle” to peace in Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc has hit Russia with multiple rounds of sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine and said earlier this year that it would not lift them before the “unconditional” withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from its neighbour. “We Europeans will accompany this American [sanctions] initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I committed yesterday to [US senator] Lindsey Graham that we would try to coordinate both the substance and the timing of these two packages of sanctions,” Barrot told AFP in an interview.
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