KYIV — Donald Trump’s deeply controversial rare minerals deal with Ukraine got an unexpected backer Monday — former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson — in office in the U.K. during Ukraine’s full-scale invasion by Russia in 2022 and a staunch supporter of Kyiv since then — said he had seen the latest draft of the proposals, and insisted it is more favorable to Ukraine than the first draft.
The deal — openly criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid a sharp downturn in United States-Ukraine relations — involves the U.S. gaining preferential access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukraine’s critical minerals.
The Trump administration had demanded that access as payback for already-provided aid for Ukraine’s fightback against Russia, and has publicly declined to offer clear security guarantees or prospects of future aid for Kyiv in return.
But signing it is, Johnson argued, the only way to move forward. His comments came amid signs Ukraine itself is now moving closer to an agreement with the U.S.
“I look at this document, and I see positive things for Ukraine,” Johnson told the annual Yalta European Strategy conference, a political gathering organized by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation. “I think it contains the seeds of hope and of progress.”
Lend-Lease
Johnson drew parallels between the proposed agreement and Lend-Lease, the Second World War-era U.S. program aimed at resupplying allies — including with long-term loans.
The former British leader said: “Yes, it’s extortionate looked at one way, but so was Lend-Lease in 1941, wasn’t it? Americans. Absolutely stiffed us. Stiffed us.”
He added: “I understand how troubling it is to think that this deal might be rapacious for your country. But I really think that we need to move through this phase, recognize what this deal really is.”
“This is something that Donald Trump can say to his right wing, to the Republican Ukraine skeptics, that he has secured. And I think it holds the prospect of progress.”
Johnson said the current draft of the proposal now commits the United States to a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine.
In a brief comment to POLITICO, Johnson seconded what Zelenskyy had claimed earlier Sunday — that $500 billion compensation demand to the U.S. is also no longer in the latest draft of the deal. “Ukrainians negotiated quite well,” Johnson said from the stage of the conference.
It comes after a senior Ukrainian official said Monday that the contours of a deal were now coming into view.“Ukrainian and U.S. teams are in the final stages of negotiations regarding the minerals agreement,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Olga Stefanishyna said in a post on X. “The negotiations have been very constructive, with nearly all key details finalized. We are committed to completing this swiftly to proceed with its signature.”
Back in London, the British government faced questions about the capacity Johnson — who is no longer an elected politician — was acting in as cheerleader for the agreement.
Current Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesperson told journalists only that they did not have “any details of his engagements” and stressed that the U.K. is “focused on everything we can do” to support Ukraine.
Since leaving office, Johnson has lobbied Trump — and fellow U.S. Republicans — to maintain U.S. support for Ukraine. More recently, Johnson has attacked “headless chicken-ism” among European capitals in response to Trump’s push to end the war, and downplayed the U.S. president’s more outlandish statements on the conflict as being designed to “shock” Europe into action.
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