Negotiations at Gunpoint: Does US Pressure on Ukraine for a Minerals Deal Amount to Unlawfully Procuring a Treaty by Use of Force?

Apr 17, 2025 | Jeremy Pizzi and Maksym Vishchyk
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American attempts to coerce Ukraine into giving up its valuable mineral resources are unseemly, but they may also threaten the validity of such a deal under international law. Even if politics is a dirty business, the coercion leveraged against Ukraine seems to shatter the boundaries of expected behavior. The word “diplomacy” can be defined as “the management of international relations by negotiation” or, alternatively, “skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility.” Although the United States’ attempts to extract concessions from Ukraine may qualify as the former, it takes a gruesome knife to the latter. But shredding decency sometimes induces consequences under international law. Although every treaty negotiation process inherently involves bargaining and utilizing one’s strengths to achieve desired outcomes, certain pressures may cross impermissible lines. The coercion leveraged by the United States to secure rights to Ukrainian mineral resources may void any treaty arising from it, as it could be deemed procured by a use of force.