Ukraine Tentatively Agrees To Trump's Rare Earth Mineral Deal
Update(1348ET): Ukraine has tentatively agreed to Trump's mineral rights access deal, Financial Times is reporting in breaking headline. The devil will of course be in the details, given as recently as Sunday Zelensky was openly resistant to the terms offered so far.
"Kyiv has agreed terms with Washington on a minerals deal that Ukrainian officials hope will improve relations with the Trump administration and pave the way for a long-term US security commitment," FT reports early Tuesday afternoon.
"Ukrainian officials say Kyiv is now ready to sign the agreement on jointly developing its mineral resources, including oil and gas, after the US dropped demands for a right to $500bn in potential revenue from exploiting the resources," the report continues.
But again nothing appears to be ultimately finalized, and there will yet be plenty of haggling over what exactly this will look like. Snippets of draft agreements have been leaked, but little in the way of the more controversial details.
"The minerals agreement is only part of the picture. We have heard multiple times from the US administration that it’s part of a bigger picture," Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and justice minister who has led the negotiations, told the same publication.
As we detailed below, Europe is actually offering its own rival version, which could be part of yet more efforts to stall and sabotage a Washington deal. President Putin himself is also touting discussions over "major" cooperation with US companies, including on access to Russia's rare earth minerals.
The US has said 'no' to NATO membership for Ukraine, even as some European leaders continue to push this dubious future scenario. Zelensky has even talked stepping down if this could guaranteed future NATO membership, but also as Ukraine's parliament has extended his mandate, with no new elections on the horizon.
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In a wide-ranging new interview with Russia 1 TV, President Vladimir Putin touted that his country is in talks with the United States over cooperating on "major" joint economic projects.
The Monday remarks came two weeks following his first phone call with President Trump after the US leader took office for the second time. "Some Russian and American companies are in contact and discussing major projects," Putin said.
This is being confirmed by the US side as well, given Trump in a Truth Social post also revealed that major "economic development transactions which will take place between the US and Russia" are in the works. He said that ongoing discussions are "proceeding very well" — coming off last week's bilateral Riyadh talks led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia's Sergey Lavrov.
Putin has also this week been taking steps to make Russia an inviting place for US companies to operate once again, after well over 1,000 of them have curtailed or closed up operations in the wake of the Ukraine war's start.
"For many years, US trade policy has been tied to sanctions. We consider these sanctions illegal and harmful to global trade," Putin described said in the interview.
As for which areas the US and Russia might cooperate on, Putin didn't detail the talks down the that level, but did tease that Russia is ready to work with "foreign partners" including companies on mining minerals.
That's when he claimed in the interview that we [Russia] "undoubtedly have, I want to emphasize, significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine" and said: "We would be ready to offer this to our American partners… if they showed interest in working together."
"As for the new territories, it's the same. We are ready to attract foreign partners to the so-called new, to our historical territories, which have returned to the Russian Federation," he added. This provocative statement appeared to reference the four annexed territories in Ukraine's east: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Western media has described that this is an "eye-catching" move by the Russian leader:
He also suggested that Russia and the US could collaborate on aluminium production in Krasnoyarsk, in Siberia, where one Russian aluminium maker, Rusal, has its largest smelters.
The televised comments followed a cabinet meeting on Russia's natural resources.
On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists the proposal opened up "quite broad prospects", adding that the US needed rare earth minerals and Russia had "a lot of them".
Offering the US access to minerals is an eye-catching move by Putin, given how much pride the Kremlin has taken in keeping Russia's natural wealth in Russian hands. In 2023 Putin accused the West, particularly the US, of trying to "dismember" Russia to gain access to its natural resources.
We've certainly come a long way from the Biden administration goal of 'weakening Russia' - to use the words of former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
🇷🇺🇺🇸 Putin reveals that Russia and the U.S. could launch joint aluminum mining projects in Krasnoyarsk, requiring $15B in investment.
— Brian McDonald (@27khv) February 24, 2025
One of the past problems in Russia-U.S. relations? A lack of deep business ties—Moscow mostly traded with the EU. Now, the strategy seems clear:… pic.twitter.com/GeqMoFDFby
Meanwhile, as the White House aggressively pursues a final deal for access to Ukraine's mineral deposits, including rare earths, Zelensky has appeared to resist.
Europe has at the same time offered its own alternative deal which Zelensky is likely to favor. Europe's Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné has said he's pitching the rival plan to Kiev officials. "Twenty-one of the 30 critical materials Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine in a win-win partnership," Séjourné said.
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Below are more highlights from Putin's Russia 1 interview, paraphrased and translated via Russian state media...
‘Rational’ Trump
Putin suggested that Trump sees Zelensky as an obstacle to stabilizing Ukraine and securing a peace deal: “Trump likely understands that Zelensky is a destabilizing factor. He wants to bring Ukrainians back together, consolidate its society, and create conditions for the survival of the Ukrainian state.”
Addressing claims that Trump’s position on Ukraine plays into Russia’s hands, Putin strongly disagreed: “In the current situation, strange as it may seem, we would be more interested in [Zelensky] sitting there and further corrupting the regime with which we are in an armed conflict. And from the point of view of strengthening Ukrainian statehood, it is necessary to act in a completely different direction – to bring to power those who will enjoy the trust of the people of Ukraine.”
The Russian president also commented on Trump’s political style, rejecting the notion that the US president acts based purely on emotion: “No, of course not. His actions are based on cold calculation and a rational approach to the situation.”
The role of Europe
Putin argued that European politicians are “shackled” by their past commitments and are unable to change their approach to Ukraine without losing credibility: “Unlike the newly elected US president, European leaders are tied to the current regime in Kiev. They are too invested and have made too many promises.”
He criticized Europe’s reaction to recent US-Russia diplomatic interactions, saying: “Their response was emotional and lacked practical meaning. Instead of addressing real issues, they focus on maintaining appearances.”
While dismissing demands by EU officials to have a say in Russia-US negotiations, Putin acknowledged that European involvement could be useful in broader discussions: “Their participation is welcome, of course. We never refused to engage with them.”
He also noted that Moscow values the efforts of non-European actors, such as BRICS nations, in promoting peace: “Not only Europeans but other countries as well have the right to participate, and we respect that.”
Military and trade relations with the US
Putin responded positively to Trump’s proposal to cut defense spending, indicating Moscow’s openness to negotiations: “We are not against it. The idea is good: the US cuts by 50%, we cut by 50%, and if China wants, they can join later.”
Commenting on US trade policies, Putin criticized American sanctions but acknowledged that each country sets its own trade priorities: “For many years, US trade policy has been tied to sanctions. We consider these sanctions illegal and harmful to global trade.”
Regarding Trump’s shift toward tariffs, Putin said he understood the reasoning behind the move: “Each country determines independently what is beneficial… I can understand the logic – to move production back home, create jobs, force taxes to be paid… But at some point, of course, these actions will encounter certain difficulties associated with inflationary pressure.”
Putin also confirmed that “some Russian and American companies are in contact and discussing major projects” but did not specify details.
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As for Europe's newly touted 'rival' rare earths deal being discussed with Ukrainian leadership, some observers might see this as yet another attempt of Washington's European allies to sabotage Trump's maneuvering toward peace. Critics have said Trump is essentially forcing Ukraine to give up its future economic sovereignty. But Trump has said the US must be paid back for the many billions in weapons sent throughout the war.
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