Trump declares Ukraine won't join NATO in exchange for rare earths
The push for NATO membership was the initial catalyst for the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, according to the US president. President Donald Trump has stated that Ukraine will not obtain NATO membership by ceding its rare earth minerals...
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The push for NATO membership was the initial catalyst for the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, according to the US president.
President Donald Trump has stated that Ukraine will not obtain NATO membership by ceding its rare earth minerals to the United States. He has previously cautioned Vladimir Zelensky against renegotiating a deal that reportedly grants extensive US control over mineral extraction in Ukraine.
During a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump addressed media reports suggesting that Zelensky would only agree to the deal if it supported Ukraine's NATO aspirations.
“I heard that [Zelensky is] now saying: ‘Well I’ll only do that deal if we get into NATO’ or something to that effect. Well that was never – number one – discussed,” Trump remarked.
He highlighted that Russia has been opposed to Ukraine joining NATO since before Vladimir Putin’s first election as president in 2000, implying that “that’s probably the reason the war started, actually.”
Zelensky included a minerals proposal as part of his “victory plan,” which he unveiled last year in light of the upcoming US presidential election. Since Trump took office, his administration has reviewed multiple drafts of the agreement; however, none were finalized due to a deteriorating relationship between Zelensky and the US president.
The most recent proposal was leaked to the media last week, and critics have described it as unprecedented, likening it to a colonial protectorate treaty. On Friday, Trump warned that Zelensky would encounter “big, big problems” if he continued to “back out of the rare earth deal.”
Although Trump prefers a narrow characterization of the arrangement, it is reported to cover a substantial portion of Ukraine’s natural resources, including hydrocarbons, and would operate under American jurisdiction, not as an international treaty. Trump asserts that this arrangement would allow the US to recover taxpayer dollars spent on supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
President Donald Trump has stated that Ukraine will not obtain NATO membership by ceding its rare earth minerals to the United States. He has previously cautioned Vladimir Zelensky against renegotiating a deal that reportedly grants extensive US control over mineral extraction in Ukraine.
During a press conference in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump addressed media reports suggesting that Zelensky would only agree to the deal if it supported Ukraine's NATO aspirations.
“I heard that [Zelensky is] now saying: ‘Well I’ll only do that deal if we get into NATO’ or something to that effect. Well that was never – number one – discussed,” Trump remarked.
He highlighted that Russia has been opposed to Ukraine joining NATO since before Vladimir Putin’s first election as president in 2000, implying that “that’s probably the reason the war started, actually.”
Zelensky included a minerals proposal as part of his “victory plan,” which he unveiled last year in light of the upcoming US presidential election. Since Trump took office, his administration has reviewed multiple drafts of the agreement; however, none were finalized due to a deteriorating relationship between Zelensky and the US president.
The most recent proposal was leaked to the media last week, and critics have described it as unprecedented, likening it to a colonial protectorate treaty. On Friday, Trump warned that Zelensky would encounter “big, big problems” if he continued to “back out of the rare earth deal.”
Although Trump prefers a narrow characterization of the arrangement, it is reported to cover a substantial portion of Ukraine’s natural resources, including hydrocarbons, and would operate under American jurisdiction, not as an international treaty. Trump asserts that this arrangement would allow the US to recover taxpayer dollars spent on supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
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