What does Ukraine actually possess that US President Donald Trump is trading away?
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| US-Ukraine resource deal: The deadlock is gradually being cleared, will Mr. Zelensky get what he wants? In the photo: Mr. Donald Trump (right) meets with Ukrainian President Zelensky at Trump Tower in New York, September 2024. (Source: Reuters) |
NBC News on February 15, citing unnamed US officials, said that Washington is seeking to negotiate 50% of Ukraine's rare earth minerals and is ready to deploy troops to protect them , if an agreement is reached with Russia to end the military conflict. This proposal follows the White House's previous proposal to ensure US support for Ukraine in exchange for rare earth minerals.
Observers discovered that this proposal of the White House owner seemed to coincide quite well with part of the "Victory Plan", which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had presented to Kiev's allies, including Mr. Donald Trump, last fall.
Part of the "Victory Plan"
Last fall, Ukraine floated the idea of opening up its vital mineral deposits to investment from allies, proposing a “Victory Plan” that would put the country in the strongest position to negotiate peace and force Moscow to the negotiating table.
Among the many plans laid out in the “Victory Plan” is a proposal to reach agreements with foreign partners to provide joint access to Ukraine’s strategically valuable resources. Kiev has signaled that it is ready to develop partnerships in resource extraction with the United States and other partners in exchange for security guarantees, but the details of how such an agreement would be reached remain vague.
The White House chief, who is pushing for a quick end to the Russia-Ukraine military conflict, confirmed that the US is seeking to reach an agreement with Ukraine on 50% of revenues from several key resources, including minerals, oil, gas and ports. Mr Trump also announced that Kiev had “basically agreed” to a $500 billion resource deal.
Last week, in an interview with Reuters , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was seen poring over a classified map of Ukraine’s rare earth and other critical mineral deposits – as part of his push to reach a deal with US President Donald Trump. Zelensky also stressed that Kiev needs allies to provide security guarantees as part of any solution.
A map unfolded on a desk in the heavily guarded presidential office in Kiev showed numerous mineral deposits, including a large swath in the east marked as containing rare earths. But about half of them appeared to be on the Russian side of the front line.
Less than 20% of Ukraine's mineral resources, including about half of its rare earth reserves, are under Russian occupation, Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president also said that Russia knew in detail where Ukraine’s key resources were from Soviet-era geological surveys. Moscow could open those resources to its allies North Korea and Iran, both of whom are rivals of the United States. “We need to stop Putin and protect what we have – a very rich Dnipro region, central Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Rare earths are vital in the production of high-performance magnets, electric motors and consumer electronics. But Mr. Zelensky Ukraine also has Europe’s largest reserves of titanium, essential for the aviation and aerospace industries, and uranium, used for nuclear power and weapons. Many of the titanium deposits are located in northwestern Ukraine, far from the fighting.
Kiev has quickly adjusted its foreign policy approach to the transactional views of the new White House owner, who is also Ukraine's most important ally. However, the head of the Ukrainian government stressed that Kiev is not "giving away" its resources, but proposing a mutually beneficial partnership to develop them together.
"The Americans have helped Ukraine the most and therefore the Americans should earn the most. They should be given priority and they will be. I also want to talk about this with President Trump," Mr. Zelensky once said
In addition, Mr. Zelensky said that Kiev and the White House are discussing the idea of using Ukraine's vast underground gas storage sites to store US liquefied natural gas (LNG). "I know that the Trump administration is very interested in that... We are ready and eager to win LNG storage contracts for Ukraine. And of course, we will be the hub for the whole of Europe," Mr. Zelensky expected.
Dilemma
However, these days, the relationship between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky is no longer as smooth as before.
Mr Zelensky warned Mr Trump of the risk of “falling into Russia’s disinformation network”. In response, Mr Trump publicly called the Ukrainian president a “dictator” and even suggested that Kiev was the one causing the conflict.
The unexpected "war of words" between the two leaders is predicted to be a bad signal for Ukraine, especially when the opponent is the head of a world superpower and is holding all decisions significantly related to both Kiev's defense and counterattack efforts in the past 3 years and even the future.
Therefore, Kiev now has to face a difficult dilemma.
On February 12, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent presented a draft agreement to President Zelensky during a visit to Kiev to discuss economic partnerships with Ukraine. Zelensky refused to sign the agreement immediately after Bessent’s presentation, saying he needed to study it and consult with others, NBC reported.
Meanwhile, a Ukrainian official told ABC News that he Zelensky and his team barely had time to review the document, but they were asked to sign it right at the meeting that day.
Later, speaking at a press conference at the Munich Security Conference (February 14-17), President Zelensky made it clear that Ukraine was not yet ready to sign a mineral resources agreement with the United States. Calling the US proposal a "memorandum of understanding" rather than a security agreement, Zelensky said that the document was "not ready to protect" Ukraine and its interests.
"For an agreement on mineral resources to be signed, Ukraine needs to know that it will be effective, positive for both countries, as well as profitable and secure for Ukraine," Zelensky added.
Regarding this, President Trump complained that the US Treasury Secretary was treated disrespectfully during his visit to Kiev. Some US officials "hinted" that President Zelensky missed "a historic opportunity". "He had to take a very long and dangerous train ride and we're talking about the Treasury Secretary (Bessent). He went there to sign an important document, but when he got there, he had to go back empty-handed," Mr. Trump said while traveling on the plane.
According to the update, a new version of the draft US-Ukraine resource agreement has undergone “significant” improvement since it was first presented to Mr Zelensky. The Ukrainian leader’s advisers have encouraged him to review and sign the revised agreement, to “avoid further conflict with Mr Trump” and allow Washington to “demonstrate” its military support for Kiev.
The content of the draft revised resource agreement has not been disclosed, however, sources from both sides are quite hopeful that an important, mutually beneficial document will be signed.
However, there are currently many different opinions among international commentators. Some people are concerned about the original draft agreement, which is said to not mention future security guarantees for Ukraine and the 50% share of revenue from the exploitation of its resources to compensate for the financial and material support that the US has provided to Kiev during the military conflict with Russia.
In addition, the harsh terms of the deal are said to put Ukraine in a near-permanent economic bind and give Washington broad control over Ukraine's resources, including minerals, oil and gas, ports and critical infrastructure.
Abc News commented that, for Kiev, "this 'hanging' proposal appeared at an important moment, in the US-Ukraine relationship under the Trump administration, even more serious than the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has lasted nearly 3 years".
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thoa-thuan-tai-nguyen-my-ukraine-be-tac-dang-dan-duoc-khai-thong-ong-zelensky-se-nhan-duoc-thu-minh-muon-305085.html
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