Trump seeks rare earth deal with Ukraine amid Russia talks
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he wishes to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine. In exchange for American aid, Kyiv would supply the United States with rare earth metals used in electronics. Trump added that "great progress" has been made in resolving the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
- We want to make a deal with Ukraine, where they ensure what we are giving them, with their rare earth metals and other resources – said Trump during a conversation with journalists in the Oval Office. Trump said that "Ukraine is ready to do it."
According to AFP, Trump stated that "the USA wants some guarantees about the rare earth metals that are in Ukraine".
Rare earth metals, also known as rare earth elements, are a group of 17 chemical elements, which include scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, and lutetium.
Trump also mentioned that "significant progress has been made regarding Russia and Ukraine". He did not elaborate on what he meant precisely.
Earlier on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that it is premature to discuss a potential four-party peace talks format proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He reiterated questioning the legitimacy of Zelensky's presidency.
The President of Ukraine, in an interview with the Associated Press published on Saturday, expressed support for four-party talks involving the United States, Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union. He added that it would be "very dangerous" if Washington and Moscow negotiated an end to the conflict in his country without Kyiv's involvement.
His statement was a response to earlier remarks by Donald Trump suggesting that Washington and Moscow were already in contact regarding Ukraine. Trump provided no details, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, quoted by the Interfax agency on 27th January, said that direct contacts between Moscow and the Trump administration have not yet commenced.
Asked on Monday about Volodymyr Zelensky's stance on the format of future talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists: - So far, no one has seriously discussed the potential configuration of participants in the negotiations.
- For now, we assume that the Ukrainian president does not have the right to conduct such talks – he added.
Moscow has long argued that the fact that Zelensky was not re-elected last year after his five-year term expired – due to the ongoing state of war – means he does not have the legal capacity to sign a peace agreement. Kyiv dismisses this position as an unfair tactic aimed at obstructing negotiations.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have not yet spoken by phone since Trump's inauguration. When asked about this on Monday, Peskov said that contacts are "apparently" planned, but for now, there is no new information on the matter.
Two Russian sources told Reuters that Russia views Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as potential venues for a summit between the two leaders.
