Unless we acknowledge the culture differences in how we and our negotiating partners approach language and leadership, we won’t close the deals we set out to close.

The United States and Ukraine are trying to hammer out a natural resources agreement that would give Washington access to Kyiv’s untapped mineral riches in exchange for investments and what Ukraine hopes would be concrete security guarantees.

U.S. President Donald Trump defended his administration’s approach to Ukraine in a March 2 statement on Truth Social, arguing that securing American business interests in Ukraine’s mining sector would act as a deterrent against further Russian aggression.