US President Donald Trump indicated on Monday that he wants to negotiate with Ukraine on an agreement on the basis of which Kiev would supply the United States of precious earths in exchange for the continuation of US aid. TASR reports according to AP.
“We want to conclude an agreement with Ukraine to ensure what we give them (in exchange) for their precious soils and other things,” Trump told reporters in an oval office. Economic aid than its European Allies.
According to Reuters, it was not immediately clear whether Trump spoke only about rare soils or all kinds of critical raw materials. Rare soils are a group of 17 metals that are used to produce magnets used for the movement of electric vehicles, mobile phones and other electronics.
In Ukraine there are large supplies of uranium, lithium and titanium, although none of them are considered one of the five largest in the world. The US has its own unused stocks of these and other important minerals. They also have only one operating mine on rare soil and very small processing capacity. The world’s largest producer of rare earths and many other critical minerals is China.
As Trump said, the Ukrainian government has allegedly showed a willingness to conclude an agreement to get access to elements that are crucial for modern economies.
“I want to be sure of rare earths,” Trump pointed out, saying that Ukraine, in which the US “deposits hundreds of billions of dollars”, has “great rare soil”.
The US President also commented on the war in Ukraine, which he had previously promised to quit quickly, which did not happen. Now he claims that negotiations are continuing and the United States has been able to make “great progress” in terms of Russia and Ukraine. “We’ll see what happens. We will stop the ridiculous war,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Greenable in Saturday’s interview for AP said that any interviews between Washington and Moscow are unacceptable if Kiev does not participate in them.
“They can have their own relationships, but to talk about Ukraine without us – this is dangerous for everyone,” said Greeding. According to him, he communicates with Trump’s administration, but he is unspecified.
