RE: America will be mining precious metals in Russia soon18 Mar 2025 18:44
With Volodymyr Zelenskyy balking at Donald Trumpās bid for Ukraineās critical rare earth minerals, the Kremlin is attempting to persuade the United States president that Russia can offer a better deal.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin told state media Monday evening, āWe are ready to work with our partners, including the Americansā to access mineral reserves ā including in Russian-occupied Ukraine. He also suggested Russia could resume selling aluminum to the U.S., saying Moscow was ready to supply āabout 2 million tons to the American market.ā
The offer came amid an attempt by the Trump administration to gain preferential access to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Ukraineās critical minerals as payback for previously supplied aid, while offering no clear security guarantees or prospects of future funds in return.Speaking in a televised interview after convening a meeting on development of the rare earth metals industry on Monday, Putin said Ukraineās potential critical minerals deal with the U.S. ādoes not concern usā ā but claimed Moscow had more to offer Trump than Kyiv did.
āWe would be ready to cooperate with our American partners ... if they showed interest in working together,ā Putin said, adding that Russia has āan order of magnitude more resources of this kind than Ukraine.ā
He name-checked mineral reserves in Russia's north, the Caucasus and the far east ā as well as in Donbas, a Ukrainian region occupied by Russian forces.
āRegarding new territories,ā Putin said, referring to parts of Ukraine that Russia has seized, āWe are ready to attract foreign partners ā and in our so-called new historical territories, which have returned to the Russian Federation, there are also certain reserves there. We are ready to work with our foreign partners, including the Americans, there.ā
To sweeten the deal further, Putin said Russia would consider working with the U.S. to produce aluminum. He noted that if American companies work with Moscow, they will āmake good money, and the corresponding volumes of aluminum will enter the domestic market at absolutely acceptable market prices.ā