The US and Ukraine have finally struck a minerals deal.

Live in the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service.

I'm Leanna Byrne. Good morning.

The US has signed a deal with Kiev to share profits from the future sale of Ukraine's mineral and energy reserves after months of fraud negotiations.

The agreement marks a shift from military aid towards an economic partnership,

which aims to incentivise the US to continue to invest in Ukraine's defence and reconstruction.

Here's how Ukrainian lawmaker Lisa Yasco from the ruling servant of the People Party responded.

So there are good parts in it which includes that we are not giving up anything

from Ukraine. We don't grant anyone like exclusive rights to Ukrainian minerals. But that's a fair

deal where United States are actually investing in the reconstruction fund and they will have 50-50

access to the mineral deals. There are more interesting parts in it, as for instance these revenues

will not be taxed in Ukraine or United States. And what is important for us is that this deal is not actually a debt obligation to United States,

as it was discussed before.

But not everyone in Washington is convinced.

Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman says it's unlikely to deliver much for U.S. taxpayers.

Let's look at it this way. For well over 50 years, the communists looked all over Ukraine

and determined what minerals were worthy of exploiting. Now for the last 35 years,

capitalists have done the same thing. So this deal only applies to deposits of minerals

that neither the communists nor the capitalists thought were worth exploiting.

And with the country still at war, how will any of this actually happen?

Graceland Baskeran at the Center for Strategic and International Studies says progress will take time.

It will not be easy to even to do the work.

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