US & Russia are discussing rare earth minerals projects, says Putin's aide

The United States and Russia are holding discussions for collaborating on rare earth minerals projects, according to a top aide to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The development comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has upended decades of foreign policy by aligning the country with Russia. While he had always been friendly with Putin, he has in his second term taken steps that essentially turn the longstanding adversary into a partner if not an outright ally immediately.

In an interview to Russian newspaper Izvestia, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev has said that the United States and Russia are in talks regarding collaboration over rare earth minerals projects.

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Dmitriev is a top aide to Putin and is part of ongoing US-Russia talks that seek to address not just the ongoing war in Ukraine but also reset the US-Russia relationship, bringing to end the longstanding adversarial relationship and starting a partnership based on transactionalism. He also serves as Putin’s Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries.

US companies interested in projects in Russia, says Dmitriev

Dmitriev told Izvestia that some US companies have already expressed interests in projects involving rare earth minerals in Russia.

Dmitriev said that officials from the two countries are expected to meet in mid-April in Saudi Arabia to discuss the matter.

“Rare earth metals are an important area for cooperation, and, of course, we have begun discussions on various rare earth metals and projects in Russia,” said Dmitriev, according to an English translation of his remarks.

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Earlier this month, Dmitriev said that he would “soon” hold talks with billionaire Elon Musk, who has emerged as the principal ally of Trump in his second term. He said that Russia would want to collaborate with Musk in spacefaring and nuclear energy domains.

“Our vision for cooperation with Musk goes beyond just Mars — it’s about leveraging the strong expertise within Roscosmos [Russian space agency] and Rosatom [Russia’s nuclear agency], which could contribute to making a Mars mission more efficient and safer. I believe this dialogue will continue,” said Dmitriev.

Putin’s rare earth pitch to Trump

Last month, Putin had proposed collaboration with the United States on rare earth minerals .

“We undoubtedly have, by an order of magnitude —I want to emphasize this— an order of magnitude more resources of this kind than in Ukraine. Russia is one of the undeniable leaders in reserves of these rare and rare earth metals. We have them in the North in Murmansk, in the Caucasus in Kabardino-Balkaria, in the Far East in the Irkutsk region, and in Yakutia in Tuva,” said Putin at the time.

Putin’s pitch to Trump was seen as part of an attempt to convince the US leader that a partnership with Russia would be much more beneficial to the United States than Europe or Ukraine. Trump has made the pursuit of rare earth minerals central to his agenda.

Trump and his allies have dubbed the need to secure rare earth minerals as a key reason for the United States to annex Denmark’s Greenland island. Separately, he is also seeking a deal with Ukraine regarding the country’s minerals, including critical and rare earths, oil, and gas.