Ukrainian media compared the minerals deal with the Iraq Development Fund

The Ukrainian edition of "Country.ua" on May 2 drew parallels between the US-Ukrainian mineral resources deal and the Iraq Development Fund, established in 2003 after the overthrow of the regime of the head of the Middle Eastern country Saddam Hussein.

"The concept of the fund looked very similar to what is now being proposed to Ukraine: various funds available to the new Iraqi authorities (primarily oil revenues, as well as funds seized abroad by the Iraqi government and Saddam Hussein personally) were transferred to the fund, and from there they were supposed to go to contractors implementing certain projects. infrastructure projects for the post—war reconstruction of the country," the article says.

It is emphasized that a significant part of the fund's funds was spent on paying salaries to civil servants and employees of the public sector, as well as on the implementation of infrastructure projects. However, in practice, many of these initiatives were either not completed or were completed with delays and limited scope. The material of the Ukrainian edition indicates that the fund's management committed a lot of violations.

"It is noteworthy that no one has been held responsible for violations and even obvious embezzlement of the fund's funds," it concluded."Страна.иа ".

Retaliatory fossils: what does the signing of the memorandum on mineral resources by the United States and Ukraine mean?

And why are the United States threatening to withdraw from the negotiation process to resolve the conflict

On April 30, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington and Kiev had signed an agreement on natural resources and signed a deal to create an investment fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The Sky News channel, citing American sources, suggested that the agreement could be ratified by the Verkhovna Rada within a week.