Trump Officials Discuss U.S. Stake in Ukraine’s Rare Earth Minerals with Zelenskyy

It was suggested by the Trump administration that the United States military might be sent in to provide security in relation to the minerals in the event that a peace agreement is reached with Russia…

According to four officials from the United States, the Trump administration has communicated to Ukraine that it is willing to consider deploying American forces to Ukraine in order to protect the country’s rare earth minerals.

Additionally, the government has indicated that it is open to the possibility of granting the United States fifty percent ownership of the rare earth minerals that are located in Ukraine.

According to two of the officials, the ownership arrangement would be a method for Ukraine to return the United States for the billions of dollars in weaponry and support that it has provided to Kyiv since the beginning of the war in February 2022. This would be done differently than paying for the minerals themselves.

The proposal for the United States to possess half of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals was submitted to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the form of a draft contract that he took to their meeting on Wednesday in Kyiv, according to eight officials from the United States who were briefed on the discussion with the United States.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, Bessent stated that the draft of an agreement between the United States and Ukraine over rare earth minerals represented the president’s goal; however, he did not disclose any specifics regarding what the administration had suggested.

According to the eight United States officials who were informed on the encounter, Zelenskyy declined to sign the document when Bessent delivered it to him during their meeting. He stated that he needed to further investigate the document and discuss it with other individuals.

Before his arrival in Munich, the Ukrainian leader stated that he and his team “will do everything to review all details of the document.” This was before he arrived in Munich, where he met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as lawmakers from the United States, on the sidelines of a global security conference.

No immediate response was received from either the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington or a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council in response to requests for comment that were made on Friday.

During the address that Zelenskyy gave on Friday at the security conference, he stated that his attorneys would analyze the paper that Bessent had handed to him in Kyiv and provide him with some recommendations and modifications. Instead of referring to the plan as a security agreement, he referred to it as a memorandum between the United States and Ukraine.

Over the past few months, President Donald Trump has shown an interest in reaching a comprehensive agreement with Ukraine that would provide the United States with major access to the country’s rare earth minerals. These minerals are utilized in the production of a wide range of technological products.

As part of a recent interview with Fox News, President Trump expressed his desire for the United States to acquire rare earth minerals from Ukraine worth a total of $500 billion. He also said that Kyiv had “essentially agreed to do so.”

At the beginning of this month, President Trump stated to reporters in the Oval Office that he would consider access to the minerals to be a type of “security.”

“The safety of rare earth is something I would like to have.” We are contributing a sum of money that is in the hundreds of billions. Trump stated that they have a big deal of rare earth, and that he wants to ensure the safety of the rare earth, and that they are willing to do so.

According to three officials from the United States, a significant number of Ukraine’s minerals are located in regions that are currently under the authority of Russian soldiers.

According to Ukrainian officials, Zelenskyy has been a supporter of the concept of exchanging “critical resources” for continuous support from the United States for a long time. He has referred to this concept as a component of the “Victory Plan” that he gave to Trump during a meeting in the fall of last year.

Zelenskyy stated to Kristen Welker, the moderator of NBC News’ “Meet the Press” program, that it would be “very, very difficult” for Ukraine to survive without the help of the United States military. This statement was made in an exclusive interview that took place on Friday at the Munich Security Conference.

“Even in the most trying circumstances, there is always a possibility for you. However, our chances of survival will be extremely low if we do not receive backing from the United States of America. “I believe that it is of utmost significance and importance,” Zelenskyy stated.

The United States Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this week that the United States will not send any troops to Ukraine as part of any security guarantees for the country.

According to a story that was published on Friday by the Wall Street Journal, Vance stated in an interview with the newspaper that the United States sending soldiers to Ukraine is “on the table” in the event that Russia does not negotiate a peace agreement in good faith.

The level of support that the United States has shown for Ukraine has long been a source of irritation for President Trump, who once referred to Zelenskyy as “the greatest salesman of all time” during a campaign rally.

During the month of September, President Trump made the statement that “every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States, he walks away with $100 billion.” “I believe that he is the best salesman on the entire planet. However, unless I am elected president, we will remain engaged in that conflict.