US President Donald Trump said Kyiv “essentially agreed” to provide mineral rights – rare earth elements in particular – in exchange for Washington’s continuing support in a Monday Fox News interview.
“I told them that I want the equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earth [minerals], and they’ve essentially agreed to do that,” Trump said.
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Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is open to a deal in response to Trump’s earlier proposals by saying, “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it.”
“The Americans helped the most, and therefore the Americans should earn the most … And they should have this priority, and they will. I would also like to talk about this with President Trump,” Zelensky added in his interview with Reuters.
Rare earth elements consist of 17 elements, the deposit and monetary values of which remain classified information in Ukraine. It is also unclear if Trump also referred to other sought-after metals found abundant in Ukraine, such as lithium and titanium.
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It is also unclear how the proposed deal would function, be it full US ownership of the mineral rights or some form of joint development.
After Trump’s statements, Ukraine’s Center for Economic Strategy (CES) voiced optimism about Trump’s proposal. It said attracting foreign investors to develop critical minerals would help integrate Ukraine into global production chains.
It is unclear where Trump obtained the $500 billion figure. However, assuming Trump’s figure of $500 billion is accurate, it would likely encompass various sorts of minerals beyond the 17 rare earth elements.
The amount is also colossal compared to Washington’s support for Ukraine and the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
According to Ukraine Oversight, a public website created by US officials to track and oversee US funding for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, Washington provided a total of over $183 billion of foreign aid to Ukraine to help the latter counter Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine’s GDP in 2021, before Russia’s 2022 invasion, stood just shy of $200 billion, according to World Bank data.
Read more about Trump’s proposal to trade Ukraine’s rare earth minerals for continued security assistance:
- Ukraine’s CES Says Country Can Benefit From US Investment in Critical Minerals
- Zelensky Calls for US Investment in Ukraine’s Rare Earth Metals, Echoing Trump
- Ukraine’s Rare Earth Minerals: What Is Trump Eyeing in Ukraine?
- Trump Proposes to Trade US Aid for Ukraine’s Metals – ‘I Want Security of Rare Earth’
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