President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it is not in the US interest for Ukraine's uranium and titanium reserves to be in Russian hands and potentially shared with North Korea, China, or Iran.
He stated this in an interview with the Guardian, reports UNN.
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine has the largest reserves of uranium and titanium in Europe, and “it is not in the interests of the United States” to have these reserves in Russian hands and potentially shared with North Korea, China, or Iran. But there was also a financial incentive, he said:
We are talking not only about security, but also about money... Valuable natural resources where we can offer our partners opportunities that did not exist before to invest in them... For us, it will create jobs, for American companies, it will create profits
Addendum [1
AFP stated that Trump wants to exchange US aid for Ukraine's rare earth metals.
Subsequently, Zelenskyy stated that he supports a strategic partnership with the United States in the extraction of rare earth metals, which could become part of an agreement on economic support and security guarantees for Ukraine.
On February 11, Donald Trump said that Ukraine had “effectively” agreed to give the United States access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion in return for military aid from Washington.