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       KYIV/WASHINGTON, April 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine said on

Thursday Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an

initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing

mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by U.S. President

Donald Trump.

    Although both had been poised in February to sign a deal for

cooperation on natural resources, it was delayed after an Oval

Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr

Zelenskiy turned into a shouting match.

    "We are happy to announce the signing with our American

partners," Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's first deputy prime

minister and economy minister, said on social media after the

signing.

    Thursday's memorandum of intent paves the way for an

economic partnership deal and the setting-up of an investment

fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, she added.

    The signing comes after officials in Kyiv worked to repair

ties following the Oval Office episode, recognising that Ukraine

needs U.S. support in its war with Russia, which mounted a

full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    The minerals deal is part of that effort, officials in

Ukraine have said.  

    Trump said the accord itself could be signed next week,

though the Ukrainian side gave no indication of when it expected

to conclude the full deal.

    A Ukrainian delegation traveled to Washington at the end of

last week for talks after the United States offered a new, more

expansive deal. An initial framework pact was agreed, but has

never been signed.

    "We have a minerals deal, which I guess is going to be

signed on Thursday," Trump told reporters at the White House

earlier.

    He has pushed for a compact that gives the United States

privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources and critical

minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided

under former President Joe Biden.

    "We're still working on the details," said Treasury

Secretary Scott Bessent, seated beside Trump in the Oval Office,

adding that the signing could come by next Friday.

    "It's substantially what we'd agreed on previously," he

said. "When the president was here, we had a memorandum of

understanding. We went straight to the big deal, and I think

it's an 80-page agreement and that's what we'll be signing."

    The White House did not respond to a request for further

details on the timing and contents of the agreement.

    Zelenskiy had said both sides could sign the memorandum

online.

    "This is a memorandum of intent. And we have positive,

constructive intentions," he told reporters in Kyiv, adding that

the U.S. side had made the offer to sign the memorandum before

the comprehensive deal, which would require ratification by

Ukraine's parliament.

    Earlier, Svyrydenko said the memorandum was the first stage

to record the significant progress made by Kyiv and Washington

in discussing the agreement.

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(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa in Kyiv, Angelo Amante and Trevor

Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Rod Nickel and Clarence

Fernandez)

((mailto:Max.Hunder@thomsonreuters.com;))