U.S. and Ukraine closer to signing agreement

Bessent said Ukraine made a counteroffer over the weekend and negotiations are still ongoing, Bloomberg reported.

“We are very, very close,” Bessent said. - The agreement could be signed as early as this week."

The Ukrainian government declined to comment before the agreement was signed. The White House and the U.S. Treasury Department also did not respond to a request for comment.

A Treasury Department spokesman said the technical talks have been very productive, adding that they look forward to concluding the negotiations as soon as possible.

The U.S. softened demands for aid repayment from Ukraine during the negotiations on the subsoil agreement.

After a round of talks in Washington last week, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration lowered its estimate of the amount of aid the U.S. has given Kiev since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion from $300 billion to about $100 billion. That came closer to Ukraine's estimate of more than $90 billion.

Photo: OP.