Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated he is willing to give the US access to rare minerals, especially those from Russian-occupied Ukraine. This comes as US President Donald Trump has frequently pressed Ukraine to hand over part of its minerals in exchange for assistance. According to a Ukrainian minister, the deal is currently being finalized.
In a state TV interview on Monday, Putin said he was willing to "offer" resources to American partners in collaborative projects, including mining in Russia's "new territories" - a reference to sections of eastern Ukraine that Russia has controlled since launching a full-fledged invasion three years earlier. Putin claimed that Russia "undoubtedly have, I want to emphasize, significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine" and that a possible US-Ukraine agreement on rare minerals was not a problem."The new territories are the same.
"We are prepared to attract foreign partners to the so-called new, to our historical territories that have returned to the Russian Federation," he said. The televised statements came during a cabinet discussion on Russia's natural resources. The US has stated that it has provided Ukraine with approximately $500 billion in economic and military assistance, and it wanted the US to have access to these resources.
