The Trump administration has suggested to Ukraine that the United States be granted 50% ownership of the country’s rare earth minerals, and signaled an openness to deploying American troops there to guard them if there’s a deal with Russia to end the war, according to four U.S. officials.
Rather than pay for the minerals, the ownership agreement would be a way for Ukraine to reimburse the U.S. for the billions of dollars in weapons and support its provided to Kyiv since the war began in February 2022, two of the officials said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented the proposal for the U.S. to own half of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a draft contract he brought to their meeting on Wednesday in Kyiv, according to eight U.S. officials briefed on the meeting.
After that meeting, Bessent said the draft of a U.S.-Ukraine rare earth minerals agreement reflected the president’s goal, but he did not provide details of what the administration had proposed.
Zelenskyy declined to sign the document when Bessent presented it during their meeting, saying he needed to study it and consult others about it, the eight U.S. officials briefed on the meeting said.
Posted by John3262005
3 Comments
So are we just officially going for mobster diplomacy now?
I feel disgusting and ashamed to be an American.
this is so dumb man. we’re the richest country on earth and we’re asking a country destroyed by war to give us 50% of rare earth minerals? they’re gonna need all the industry they can get to build up after the war.
this is all because we gave them retiring military assets. does trump think we just gave them one massive check?
zelenskyy mustve been mortified trump won jfc.