A Ukrainian delegation will go to the U.S. to discuss the subsoil deal. The U.S. Treasury Secretary explained who is undermining the agreement

A Ukrainian delegation will travel to the U.S. this week to discuss the natural resources deal.

This information was confirmed by Ukraine’s Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko in an interview with the Associated Press.

“What we currently have is a document reflecting the position of the U.S. Treasury Department’s legal team. This is not a final version, and not a joint position,” she stated.

According to her, the Ukrainian delegation will include representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Finance.

According to Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the delegation will be a “technical group” whose purpose is not to conduct negotiations but to work out specific details.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson that the Ukrainian natural resources deal is being obstructed by “those sitting on the cash flows.”

“Because we would have been controlling the movement of money (as per the agreement),” Bessant said. “I believe that was the ‘glitch in the system’. Hopefully, it was a bug, not a feature — and that it’s been fixed. We’re expecting the Ukrainian technical delegation early next week, and I hope the deal gets signed so we can get back to a win-win scenario.”

In Bessant’s view, the “win” is that “the money goes to both Americans and Ukrainians.”

“This wasn’t some kind of predatory Chinese contract where you hand over mines or a port in exchange for a loan you’ll never repay. This was a genuine economic partnership. Ukraine contributed the assets, we contributed loans through international banks and American know-how. We didn’t make a profit unless they did,” he added.

According to the Secretary, the signing of the deal is a key step for U.S. President Donald Trump’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Trump wanted to sign this deal with Ukraine and then take it to the Russian leadership to show: the U.S. supports Ukraine, but in an economic, pragmatic way (i.e., not militarily). That could have given the Russians a reason to come to the negotiating table. Now that sequence is off-track, but I think we can fix it,” Bessant said.

He also hinted that, in the absence of a deal, the U.S. might audit its aid to Ukraine. When Carlson asked, “Where did all the billions go?” Bessant called it a “tough question” but added: “If this deal works — all that money spent will seem like small change.”

The Treasury Secretary also revealed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had promised to sign the mineral deal back at the Munich Security Conference, but broke that promise. Instead, he began “begging” the U.S. to receive him at the White House to sign the document.

“But he didn’t sign in Munich. Then there were many rounds of talks. Eventually, they were literally begging for a White House visit. I said — let him sign before he arrives. He came into the Oval Office… and blew it all up. Even though it was supposed to be the easiest thing in the world,” Bessant said.

As a reminder, the Treasury Secretary recently confirmed that a Ukrainian delegation will soon arrive in the U.S. to discuss the natural resources agreement.