Negotiating rare earth deal: Trump proposes Ukraine agreement
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he wants to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine under which Kyiv would supply the United States with rare earth metals used in electronics, in exchange for American aid. He added that "great progress" has been made in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.
- We want to make a deal with Ukraine, where they secure what we are giving them, with their rare earth metals and other things – said Trump during a conversation with journalists in the Oval Office. Trump said that "Ukraine is ready to do it."
According to AFP, Trump said 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 said that "significant progress has been made regarding Russia and Ukraine". He did not explain what he meant exactly.
Earlier on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated it is too early to talk about a potential four-party peace talks format proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He reiterated his questions regarding the legitimacy of Zelensky's presidency.
The President of Ukraine said in an interview with the Associated Press published on Saturday that he supports four-party talks between the United States, Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union. He added that it would be "very dangerous" if Washington and Moscow negotiated the end of the war in his country without Kyiv's involvement.
His statement was a reaction to earlier comments by Donald Trump suggesting that Washington and Moscow were already in contact regarding Ukraine. Trump did not provide details, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, quoted by the Interfax agency on January 27th, said that direct contacts between Moscow and the Trump administration have not yet begun.
Asked on Monday about Volodymyr Zelensky's stance on the format of future talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists: - So far, no one has seriously discussed the possible 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 claimed 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. 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.
