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The Trump administration wants the US to get 50 per cent ownership of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
They have proposed this as reimbursement for the billions of dollars in military aid that Washington has provided to Kyiv since beginning of the war in February 2022.
The proposal, presented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday (February 12), also included a suggestion that US troops could be deployed to guard the mineral reserves if a settlement is reached with Russia to end the war, NBC News reported, citing two US officials as saying.
Rather than a direct financial transaction, the ownership agreement would serve as a form of compensation for US military and financial assistance.
Bessent outlined the proposal in a draft contract he presented to Zelenskyy during their meeting, NBC News cited eight US officials briefed on the discussions as saying.
The Ukrainian leader declined to sign the document, saying he needed to review the details and consult with his advisors.
Following the meeting, Bessent did not confirm the specifics of the proposal but said the draft agreement aligned with President Donald Trump’s objectives for US-Ukraine relations.
Zelenskyy told US officials that he and his team would examine the agreement carefully before his trip to Munich, where he met Friday (February 14) with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and several US lawmakers on the sidelines of a global security conference.
Recently, Trump had said, “We are going to have all this money in there, and I say I want it back. And I told them that I want the equivalent, like $500bn worth of rare earth[…]And they have essentially agreed to do that, so at least we don’t feel stupid.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsUkraine had floated the idea of opening its critical minerals to investment by allies last autumn, as it presented a ”victory plan” that sought to put it in the strongest position for talks and force Moscow to the table.
With inputs from agencies