Donald Trump said on Monday that he wanted to negotiate an “agreement” with Ukraine so that it offers a “guarantee” on its “rare land”, metals widely used in electronics, in exchange for ‘American help.
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His Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky had already proposed last October to agree with the partners of Ukraine on the exploitation of certain strategic metals.
“We are trying to find an agreement with Ukraine that they would bring their rare land guaranteed and other things in exchange for what we give them,” said the American president during an exchange with journalists in the Oval Office .
“Do you want Ukraine to give its rare land to the United States?” asked for a reporter. “Yes,” replied Donald Trump, “I want insurance on rare earths.”
In a peace plan unveiled last October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had, without specifically evoking the rare earths, proposed a “special agreement” with the partners of his country, allowing “common protection” and a “common exploitation of resources strategic “of his country.
He had given “uranium, titanium, lithium, graphite and other high value strategic resources”.