The Ukraine-US minerals deal struck on Wednesday pursuant to fraught negotiations for months raises the prospects for a peace process to end the longest war in Europe in 80 years. At the very least, the development signals a return to civility after negotiations were derailed following an acrimonious exchange in February in the White House between president Donald Trump and president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukraine managed to wrangle some more favorable terms out of the United States before signing the long-awaited minerals deal on Wednesday.

The text of the agreement, made public by Ukraine’s government, made no mention of the security guarantees that Kyiv had long sought.