The US president, Donald Trumphe is gathered with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodímir Zelenskito seal a commercial agreement that will allow USA Get with part of the natural resources of the Eslavo country, also of the calls, a set of 17 strategic minerals. With that extraction, Washington seeks to charge the military support provided to Ukraine From the beginning of the military invasion deployed by Russia In 2022. However, Kiev in return for security guarantees that, for now, the White House It refuses to grant.
The meeting arrives at a particularly complicated moment between both leaders. After three years of guerraTrump claimed access to these raw materials as compensation under threat of withdrawing his help ,. Last week, the Republican leader falsely accused Ukraine of starting the conflict and called Zelenski from “dictator No elections, “who responded by accusing his counterpart of being” caught in a bubble of disinformation“. All that tension seemed to dissipate on Thursday, when Trump denied having said it and said he had a good relationship with the Ukrainian.
kyiv’s discomfort goes beyond insults. The Trumpist administration has started bilateral conversations with Moscow To end war, thus excluding Ukrainians from the negotiating table that could settle the future of their country. In addition, Washington’s new position concerns those of Zelenski, who fear the definitive loss of Crimea and the Donbassthe Ukrainian territory that Russia was annexed by force almost 11 years ago. “Returning to the borders that Ukraine had before 2014 is an unrealistic objective,” said US secretary of defense, the US secretary of defense, Pete Hegsethwhich also ruled out the country’s entry into the Take.
Preliminary Agreement
Despite these differences, Trump and Zelenski have reached a preliminary agreement that will continue to expand after their meeting. The text indicates that Ukraine will yield 50% of the income obtained from the future exploitation of all natural resources under state control, which includes the oilhe gas natural and rare earths. However, the exact amounts, which could vary, will be detailed in a subsequent agreement.
The country of Eastern Europe has 5% of the world’s critical raw materials, crucial for the most leading industries. Currently, it has a total of 10,000 deposits of up to 95 different chemical elements, including the lithiumcrucial for the manufacture of batteries.
No security guarantees
In return, USA undertakes to defend Ukraine, although the agreement does not include the security guarantees demanded by Zelenski to “prevent Russia from destroying the lives of other nations”, a protection that, according to Trump ,. The US president insisted on Wednesday that Ukraine “can forget (his income in) NATO” as a possible solution.
Trump believes that the reinforcement of commercial ties with kyiv will be a deterrent element for the Kremlinan expense-scan that will prevent Moscow’s military expansionism. The president explained yesterday that he is confident that the Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin I would not violate the terms of a hypothetical peace agreement. “I think he will keep his word,” he said during his meeting with British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. “I have known him for a long time.”
