According to people familiar with the matter, in negotiations on an economic agreement between the two countries,The United States appears to have relaxed its conditions for Ukraine to repay its aid.

The people said that after a round of negotiations held in Washington last week, the Trump administration has estimated the amount of aid the United States has provided to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.The cut from $300 billion to about $100 billion brings it closer to Ukraine's own estimate of more than $90 billion.

The Trump administration is putting pressure on Kiev to reach a deal to share profits from future Ukrainian investment projects, including minerals and infrastructure. Washington sees it as compensation for the tens of billions of dollars of weapons and other aid provided to Ukraine by former President Biden since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict over the past three years.

The partnership agreement will give the United States priority claim rights for profits transferred to a special reconstruction investment fund controlled by Washington. Kiev is looking for better terms andRefusing to acknowledge past U.S. aid as debt。

The Ukrainian government declined to comment before the agreement was signed. The White House and the Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance said,Technical talks are "productive", adding that they look forward to ending the negotiations soon.

When asked about the status of the negotiations on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Besent said Ukraine made a recommendation last weekend and negotiations are still in progress. “We are very, very close,” Becent said in an interview. “It may even be signed as early as this week。”

The talks between the technical team last Friday and Saturday were constructive, one of the people familiar with the matter said. But the person saidThe United States still regards the agreement as an opportunity to recover input costs in Ukraine through fund profits.The latest draft still does not specify the size of the fund。

According to the anonymous people,The Trump administration remains reluctant to commit to future investments in the fund, and put this issue on hold, a key interest in Kiev in such agreements. on the contrary,The U.S. continues to insist that U.S. aid to Ukraine during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict should be seen as Washington's contribution to the fund。

These people saidUkrainian negotiators have been having trouble convinced their U.S. counterparts to abandon the practice, which is the basis of several of the most stringent requirements proposed by Washington.

For now, Kiev needs to act cautiously. Ukrainian President Zelensky has "stepped on mines" many times. In February this year, he clashed with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office, resulting in the abandonment of the previous mineral agreement and prompted the United States to temporarily suspend aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine.

Amid the doubts about which party responds to failure to achieve a ceasefire,Trump once again blames the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on Zelensky. The U.S. president has also expressed frustration at the slow progress of negotiations with Russia, which has refused to accept his proposal to make a truce a starting point for broader peace talks.

Meanwhile, Trump’s envoy, Witkov, said on Monday that he saw “the possibility of reshaping Russia-US relations through some very attractive business opportunities, and I think that can also bring real stability to the region.” Witkov met Putin last week in St. Petersburg for nearly five hours.

The risk is also high for Kyiv's desire to join the EU, becauseAny preferential treatment given to the United States may violate EU single market rules. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal last week described the country's EU target as the "first red line" of the deal.

Last week's talks by Ukrainian officials in Washington focused mainly on the details of the potential agreement, with no senior government leaders involved. Lawyers will continue to work remotely this week to complete the draft as soon as possible, a person familiar with the matter said. Hogan Lovells is providing legal advice to Kiev.

For the next online meeting later this week, one of Kiev's missions is to provide details of specific projects that can be launched under the agreement, a person familiar with the matter said.. The draft profit sharing agreement proposed by the U.S. team envisions several concessions in Kiev, such as allowing the U.S. to share Ukraine in oil, including oil,natural gasPotential investment returns on high-profit assets such as rare earth minerals and seaports.