Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted security as key to post-war economic outlook in talks with U.S. officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed on Dec. 10 that Ukraine has agreed to key aspects of a strategy for rebuilding the country after the war following discussions with U.S. officials.
The discussion focused on an economic outline for reconstruction during the talks, which included Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
Economic discussions have become a key aspect of peace discussions, encompassing Ukraine’s future defense and land control.
“The principles of the economic document are completely clear, and we are fully aligned with the American side,” Zelenskyy said. “An important common principle is that for reconstruction to be of high quality and economic growth after this war to be tangible, real security must be at the core. When there is security, everything else is there too.”
Zelenskyy was joined at the meeting by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, fellow Ukrainian officials, and high-ranking armed forces members. He said that two key agreements cover defense and economic matters.
This 20-point framework is a refined version of Trump’s initial 28-point proposal, including yielding territories, such as ceding Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk to Russia; freezing lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia; placing constitutional blocks on Ukraine’s joining NATO; a NATO rule prohibiting its entry; curtailments on Ukrainian troops to 600,000; potential EU accession for Ukraine if qualified; and Russia’s return to the G8. Recent changes to the agreements have struck amendments seen as unfavorable to Ukraine.
Kushner has become a centerpiece in designing an agreement between Ukraine and Russia. He joined Trump’s delegate Steve Witkoff at a Kremlin session earlier this month with Russian President Vladimir Putin that was constructive but did not result in full agreement on land accessions, and the pair later met with the Ukrainian delegation in Florida. Kushner earlier led negotiations of a cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and terrorist group Hamas.
Another component introduced by the United States in Ukraine’s renewal plans is co-investment in areas such as scarce metals. The resulting investment fund would be overseen by Washington and Kyiv, overseeing emerging pursuits in natural assets and including strategic resources such as rare-earth elements, petroleum, natural gas, and more, with Kyiv agreeing to half of forthcoming earnings from these resources for reconstruction.
