Reuters: Trump is looking for an urgent deal over Ukraine mines

According to RCO News Agency, two people told Reuters on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump may seek a simplified agreement with Ukraine on the mines to first sign a general contract and later negotiate details, Including how much the US will take over Ukraine.

The move comes after Ukrainian President Walodimir Zelnsky rejected a detailed US proposal last week. The offer included the transfer of 5 % of Ukraine’s vital mines to Washington, including graphite, uranium, titanium and lithium. Lithium is one of the key components in electric car batteries.

Agreement over resources is preferable to peace

Sources say this has shown that it would be time to reach a complete agreement.

But Donald Trump wants to have an agreement with Ukraine before providing more military support for Kiev or trying to mediate official peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Trump’s representative Kate Clag is in Kiev to negotiate the conditions of the new agreement and what Ukraine receives in exchange for its signature.

“It is very important for us to meet – and to cooperate with the US – constructive,” Zelksky said.

When asked by a Trump adviser whether US officials will continue to pursue the deal, he said, “We must return this man to reality.”

The White House immediately did not respond to the request.

According to Reuters, efforts to reach an agreement continue, despite the rise of the gap between Trump and Zelnski.

Trump on Wednesday called Zelksky “a dictator without elections”. The comment came after Zelksky claimed Trump was caught in the trap of false Russian propaganda. It was Zelksky’s reaction to Trump’s claim that Ukraine had begun the war.

The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Kiev in the past three years when the Ukrainian war has begun. Trump has said that US investment in Ukraine mines could guarantee that “we will somehow recover that money.” He seeks to grant the United States a mining privilege worth $ 5 billion, as a gratitude for Washington’s assistance.

Zelnsky: I can’t sell our country

Sources say it is important for Trump to show the American people that the United States is compensating for its aid. It is unclear how much the US initial proposal was considered as compensation for past weapons or as part of future aid. But Zelnsky said the offer was over -focused on US interests and had no security guarantee for Kiev.

“I can’t sell our country,” Zelnsky told reporters on Wednesday.

A third source that is aware of the issue said Ukraine is willing to agree with the Trump administration.

Another source said that Kiev is ready for agreement, but it should not seem “greedy” like the initial US proposal.

The details of the US negotiations on a possible mines agreement, including who in the government set up this initial proposal, is unclear.

The modified approach is only one of the few options to be discussed at the White House to finalize the agreement with Kiev in the coming weeks. This timeframe is unusual, as such agreements are usually reached between private companies and government agencies, not among governments.

Trump again expressed his dissatisfaction on Wednesday that most US aid to Ukraine was in gratitude, while he said Europe has mainly contributed to Kiev’s loan. “While the United States receives nothing, they (Europeans) get their money back,” he said.

He also criticized Zelnsky’s opposition to the 2-4 of the resources and described it as a violation of an agreement, without providing evidence that Kiev had really agreed to the agreement. “We had an agreement on rare minerals and other sources, but they broke the agreement … they did it two days ago,” Trump said.

A chance to compensate for aid

A simpler and more refined approach can help the United States overcome numerous legal and logistical barriers and have more time to negotiate details of development, including how to divide the future.

“The United States has not usually used natural resources exchange for foreign aid, but this is a tested and proven tool in China’s mineral policy,” said Gracene Baskaran, director of the Vital Mineral Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. »

Former US Deputy US Special Representative Tyson Barker said that Ukraine is strongly interested in establishing deeper economic and security relations with the United States and finding a way to recognize significant US investment in Ukraine’s future.

“The Ukrainians are too much for the United States to give more privileges, including special access to vital mineral resources, as a gratitude for the billions of dollars that US taxpayers have spent on Ukraine,” he said.

“The Ukrainians have been strategic about this for a while,” he said.

Barker said similar conditions should be provided to other countries that have been aid to Ukraine during the war, including Canada, Britain, Japan and the European Union. But Russia also tends to Ukraine’s natural resources, and its forces, which have so far occupied one -fifth of Ukraine soil, including the reserves of rare soil elements, are now less than 2 miles from a massive lithium mine.

Zelnsky has said that Ukraine and the United States should negotiate about the fate of mineral reserves in Russian -controlled areas.

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