US and Ukraine sign Memorandum of Intent for future Minerals Deal

The US and Ukraine signed an MoI (Memorandum of Intent) under which they are engaged to sign the Minerals Deal till end of April.

There are no details in the MoI that would describe future rights and obligations.

The MoI is not binding. It is a declaration of intent only.

There are no security guarantees mentioned.

The MoI surprises with mistakes in syntax and wording.

The initial paragraph refers to the substantial aid and support of the US for Ukraine in relation to the war with Russia but does not say that it was for free, a grant. Therefore, considering also the previous statements of the US, there is no other interpretation possible than that the Minerals Deals is the compensation for the US aid and support.

Finally, certainly on Ukraine’s demand, a paragraph refers to Ukraine’s abandon of nuclear weapons and its signing of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. This is historically incorrect: Ukraine never owned nuclear weapons, they were owned and controlled by Russia, the successor state of the Soviet Union, and Ukraine did not abandon anything.