US and Ukraine Sign Agreement on Access to Natural Resources
미국과 우크라이나, 천연자원 접근에 관한 협정 체결
The US and Ukraine reached a deal over access to Ukraine’s natural resources Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the accord, a move that Kyiv sought to solidify President Donald Trump’s backing in ceasefire talks with Russia.
미국과 우크라이나는 수요일 우크라이나 천연자원 접근에 관한 합의에 도달했다고 협정에 정통한 한 인사가 전했으며, 이는 키예프가 도널드 트럼프 대통령의 러시아와의 휴전 협상 지지를 확고히 하려는 움직임이다.
The deal will grant the US privileged access to new investment projects to develop Ukraine’s natural resources including aluminum, graphite, oil and natural gas.
이번 거래는 미국에 알루미늄, 흑연, 석유 및 천연 가스를 포함한 우크라이나 천연 자원 개발을 위한 새로운 투자 프로젝트에 대한 특권적 접근 권한을 부여할 것입니다.
It’s been seen as critical to nurturing Trump’s goodwill toward Kyiv as his administration pushes to end the war that began when Russia mounted its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago.
트럼프 행정부가 3년 넘게 러시아가 우크라이나에 전면 침공을 감행한 이후 시작된 전쟁을 끝내기 위해 노력하는 가운데, 트럼프의 키이우에 대한 호의를 키우는 데 있어 이것이 매우 중요하다고 여겨져 왔다.
After weeks of Ukrainian and US officials wrangling over the text, momentum toward a breakthrough was building early this week, with Ukrainian negotiators visiting Washington to iron out final details. The two sides had agreed on the main accord but were discussing technical details spelled out in separate texts.
우크라이나와 미국 관리들이 수주간 텍스트를 놓고 논쟁을 벌인 후, 이번 주 초 우크라이나 협상단이 워싱턴을 방문해 최종 세부 사항을 조율하면서 돌파구를 향한 모멘텀이 형성되고 있었다. 양측은 주요 합의에는 동의했으나 별도의 문서에 명시된 기술적 세부 사항을 논의 중이었다.
Ukrainian officials had been hoping to sign the overarching deal and nail down the details later, but the US insisted all components be agreed on together, a person familiar with the matter said.
우크라이나 관리들은 포괄적인 협정을 먼저 체결하고 세부 사항은 나중에 확정하기를 희망했으나, 미국은 모든 구성 요소가 함께 합의되어야 한다고 주장했다고 사안을 잘 아는 한 인사가 전했다.
“We made a deal where our money is secure, where we can start digging and doing what we have to do,” Trump said at a Cabinet meeting at the White House earlier Wednesday. “It’s also good for them because you’ll have an American presence at the site, and the American presence will keep a lot of bad actors out of the country or certainly out of the area where we’re doing the digging.”
트럼프는 수요일 초 백악관에서 열린 내각 회의에서 “우리는 우리의 자금이 안전한 거래를 성사시켰으며, 우리가 해야 할 일을 시작할 수 있게 됐다”고 말했다. “이것은 그들에게도 좋다. 현장에 미국인이 상주하게 될 것이고, 미국인의 존재가 많은 악의 세력들이 그 나라나 우리가 굴착 작업을 하는 지역에서 확실히 멀어지게 할 것이다.”
Reconstruction Fund 재건 기금
The accord will grant the US first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund that would be controlled by Washington. According to a draft of the document seen by Bloomberg News, the US agreed that only future military assistance that it may provide Ukraine would count toward its contribution to the fund. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that Washington dropped its insistence that the deal provide for repayment of billions of dollars in aid already delivered since the start of Russia’s invasion.
이 협정은 워싱턴이 통제하는 특별 재건 투자 기금으로 이전된 이익에 대해 미국에 우선 청구권을 부여할 것입니다. 블룸버그 뉴스가 입수한 문서 초안에 따르면, 미국은 우크라이나에 제공할 수 있는 향후 군사 지원만이 기금에 대한 기여로 인정된다는 데 동의했습니다. 우크라이나 총리 데니스 슈미할은 워싱턴이 러시아 침공 시작 이후 이미 제공된 수십억 달러의 원조 상환을 요구하는 입장을 철회했다고 밝혔습니다.
The agreement “strengthens the strategic partnership between the Parties for the long-term reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine, in response to the large-scale destruction caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion,” according to the draft of the document seen by Bloomberg News.
이 협정은 블룸버그 뉴스가 입수한 문서 초안에 따르면 러시아의 전면 침공으로 인한 대규모 파괴에 대응하여 우크라이나의 장기 재건 및 현대화를 위한 당사자 간 전략적 파트너십을 강화하는 것이다.
Washington will also acknowledge Kyiv’s intention that the deal avoid any conflict with its plans to join the European Union, according to the plan. That was long seen as a red line for Ukraine in the talks.
The US and Ukraine have haggled over the deal for weeks, amid initial concerns from Kyiv about signing away too much its country’s fortune. Washington has said the deal would help repay the US for aid it’s given Kyiv and argues it would provide a de facto security shield from further Russian aggression if American businesses are active there.
White House officials have said Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with both Ukraine and Russia and the difficulty in getting them to agree to end Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.
Trump has threatened to “walk away” if there’s no progress in those ceasefire negotiations, raising concerns among Ukraine’s allies about the extent to which Kyiv may be blamed for talks falling apart. With a natural resources deal between the US and Ukraine, Trump may be more lenient toward Kyiv.
A previous attempt to clinch the agreement fell through earlier this year after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.
US and Ukrainian officials signed a memorandum of intent earlier in April, and continued to hash out the technical details of the deal. Zelenskiy then met one-on-one with the US president at the Vatican on Saturday before the funeral of Pope Francis.
The US and Ukraine wrangled over the deal for weeks, amid initial concern from Kyiv about signing away too much its country’s fortune. Washington has said the deal would help repay the US for aid it’s given Kyiv and argues it would provide a de facto security shield from Russian aggression if American businesses are active there.
US and Ukrainian officials signed a memorandum of intent earlier in April, and continued to hash out the technical details of the deal, which would grant the US first claim on profits transferred into a special reconstruction investment fund that would be controlled by Washington. Zelenskiy then met one-on-one with the US president at the Vatican on Saturday before the funeral of Pope Francis.
As part of the agreement, the US and Ukraine will seek to create the conditions to “increase investment in mining, energy, and related technology in Ukraine,” according to the draft document. Washington also acknowledges Kyiv’s intentions for the deal to avoid any conflict with its plans to join the European Union — long seen as a red line for Ukraine in the talks.
(Updates with details of negotiations starting in fourth paragraph)