The United States and the use of Ukrainian subsoil: easy to promise, hard to fulfill
10 February 10:56
In order to grant a subsoil use permit to, for example, American companies, you need to have one. But it’s no secret that over the past 30 years, all the permits for commercially interesting deposits have been handed out to “respectable” people. This problem was pointed out by Danylo Hetmantsev, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The MP believes that “there is nothing or almost nothing to offer to partners, and therefore the first issue is the return of illegally stolen fields to the people of Ukraine.”
“Let’s take, for example, the famous and powerful subsoil miner Zlochevsky, who continues to receive significant income from Ukrainian deposits, cutting through the warm waves of the Mediterranean Sea with the keel of his beautiful yacht Karianna, the heroine of several blockbusters by Ukrainian investigative journalists. The issue of returning the stolen super-valuable deposits to the people of Ukraine has been raised many times, but the oligarch’s efforts have kept it stuck in our government offices. Let’s face it – Zlochevsky is the most odious, but he is definitely not an exception, because stealing subsoil is a matter of “honor” for every self-respecting oligarch of the past,” says Danylo Hetmantsev.
Therefore, the first issue, according to him, is the audit of all mineral deposits and their return to the people.
According to the MP, this issue should be resolved regardless of the interests of the United States or other partners, as it is in the interests of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
“And once it is resolved, it is possible and advisable to transfer the deposits to a foreign investor from partner countries on mutually beneficial terms, but without any benefits with a fair share of the value of the extracted and preferably processed in Ukraine, which should be received by the people of Ukraine. Therefore, we start with an audit and audit,” emphasized Danylo Hetmantsev.
He said that he is preparing a corresponding appeal to the National Security and Defense Council, as this is definitely a matter of national security.
As it is known, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that he had discussed with US President Donald Trump the issue of attracting American investment in mining in Ukraine. The American president welcomed the idea. When commenting on the possibility of providing Ukraine with American assistance, he linked it to the provision of guarantees for the extraction of Ukrainian rare earth metals.
Recently, in an interview with Reuters, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is ready to cooperate with the United States for the sake of security and explained what he meant when he spoke about US participation in mining in Ukraine.
According to the head of the Ukrainian state, Ukraine will not give away its precious resources, such as uranium, titanium and manganese ores, rare earth elements, lithium, and natural gas, but offers a mutually beneficial partnership for the joint development of the countries.
“The Americans helped the most, so the Americans should get the most. They should have this priority, and they will have it,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said and noted that he would like to talk about it with President Trump.
As you know, Donald Trump has already announced a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days.
