{"id":237500,"date":"2025-02-12T19:28:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T19:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/12\/how-ukraine-pitched-trump-on-a-deal-for-critical-minerals\/"},"modified":"2025-02-12T19:28:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T19:28:18","slug":"how-ukraine-pitched-trump-on-a-deal-for-critical-minerals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/12\/how-ukraine-pitched-trump-on-a-deal-for-critical-minerals\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ukraine Pitched Trump on a Deal for Critical Minerals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/11\/multimedia\/00ukraine-trump-minerals-01-jfwt\/00ukraine-trump-minerals-01-jfwt-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"How Ukraine Pitched Trump on a Deal for Critical Minerals\" title=\"How Ukraine Pitched Trump on a Deal for Critical Minerals\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To Ukraine, they are a chit to play in an ongoing appeal to President Trump for more financial and military support. To Mr. Trump, they should be overdue payment for billions of dollars committed to Kyiv\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Either way, Ukraine\u2019s vast and valuable mineral resources have suddenly become a prominent component in the maneuvering over the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Over the past week, Mr. Trump has repeatedly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/03\/world\/europe\/trump-ukraine-rare-earth-minerals.html\" title=\"\">pushed the idea of trading U.S. aid for Ukraine\u2019s critical minerals<\/a>. He told <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6368624897112\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fox News<\/a> on Monday that he wanted \u201cthe equivalent of like $500 billion worth of rare earths,\u201d a group of minerals crucial for many high-tech products, in exchange for American aid. Ukraine had \u201cessentially agreed to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For Ukraine, it is a hopeful sign that Mr. Trump, a longtime skeptic of American aid to Kyiv, might find a path to maintaining support that he finds palatable. But it\u2019s still possible that the famously mercurial president will change his mind, and even his statements about a deal have been ambiguous about whether he wants Ukraine\u2019s minerals for past or future aid \u2014 or a combination of both.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump\u2019s proposal followed a campaign launched by Kyiv in the fall to appeal to the U.S. president\u2019s business-oriented mind-set by discussing lucrative energy deals and emphasizing that defending Ukraine aligned with American economic interests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The campaign included a meeting between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky and trips to the United States by Ukrainian officials to pitch deals for exploiting deposits of lithium and titanium \u2014 vital for producing technologies like electric batteries. It also involved getting backing from influential political figures like the Republican senator Lindsey Graham.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The campaign was launched after politically connected U.S. investors started showing interest in Ukraine\u2019s underground wealth in late 2023, despite the war that has been raging since 2022. A consortium including TechMet, an energy investment firm partly owned by the U.S. government, and Ronald S. Lauder, a wealthy friend of Mr. Trump, has engaged with Kyiv to bid on a Ukrainian lithium field, according to a letter to Mr. Zelensky reviewed by The New York Times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Lauder, a cosmetics heir who <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/14\/us\/politics\/trump-greenland.html\" title=\"\">planted the idea in Mr. Trump\u2019s mind of buying resource-rich Greenland<\/a>, said through a spokesman that he had not discussed Ukrainian minerals with Mr. Trump directly, but had \u201craised the issue with stakeholders in the U.S. and Ukraine for many years up to the present day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As Mr. Trump pushes for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, Kyiv\u2019s campaign around critical minerals has underscored Mr. Zelensky\u2019s evolving strategy for retaining American support. Moving away from the moral appeals he used with the Biden administration, he has embraced a more transactional approach closer to Mr. Trump\u2019s style. Mr. Zelensky recently said that he would also be interested in purchasing American liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, met with Mr. Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss what a deal for Ukraine\u2019s minerals might look like, marking the first visit by a Trump administration official to Ukraine. Mr. Bessent presented Mr. Zelensky a draft of an economic cooperation agreement, adding that \u201cin exchange for this agreement, the U.S. will continue to provide material support for Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Zelensky said he hoped to finalize a deal at the Munich Security Conference later this week. \u201cWe will do everything so that our teams can quickly agree and sign this document,\u201d he told reporters at a news conference alongside Mr. Bessent on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The idea of leveraging Ukraine\u2019s mineral resources took shape last summer. Kyiv was crafting its \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/16\/world\/europe\/zelensky-ukraine-victory-plan-russia.html\" title=\"\">Victory Plan<\/a>,\u201d a strategy aimed at ending the war on terms favorable to Ukraine, and wanted to convince its allies to sustain their support despite rising war fatigue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukrainian officials were particularly concerned about a potential return to power of Mr. Trump, who had vowed to cut off military and financial aid to Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials and lawmakers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Their attention was drawn to an argument voiced by a Trump ally: Mr. Graham, who was making the case that Ukraine was \u201csitting on a gold mine\u201d of critical minerals. \u201cIf we help Ukraine now, they could become the best business partner we\u2019ve ever dreamed of,\u201d he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/1799832487285465244\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a> last June. He reinforced his message in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/1832160396846776710\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">video<\/a> with Mr. Zelensky in September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukrainian authorities say the country holds deposits of nearly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usgs.gov\/news\/national-news-release\/us-geological-survey-releases-2022-list-critical-minerals\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">half the 50 minerals the United States has identified as critical<\/a> for its economy and national security. The <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/investportalua.com\/critical-raw-materials\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Kyiv School of Economics<\/a> says Ukraine holds the largest titanium reserves in Europe and a third of the continent\u2019s lithium reserves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Groups like <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/ukraines-mineral-wealth-global-markets-the-secdev-group\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">SecDev<\/a>, a Canadian firm, have valued the reserves at several trillion dollars. But some deposits are inaccessible because they are in Russian-occupied land. And experts caution that exploiting mineral reserves could be a costly and prolonged process, with new surveys needed to accurately assess their potential.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a November 2023 letter to Mr. Zelensky, Brian Menell, head of TechMet, sought assistance for launching a bid to exploit a state-owned lithium field in central Ukraine. The letter named Mr. Lauder, the Texas-based investment firm Privateer Capital and other U.S. and international investors as associates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Menell and other energy executives <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.president.gov.ua\/en\/news\/pidgotovka-ukrayinskoyi-energosistemi-do-zimi-prezident-zust-93437\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">met<\/a> Mr. Zelensky in New York in September. It is unclear whether they discussed the bid, which has yet to be launched. \u201cTechMet, together with our partners, is available to move forward with further work if the U.S. and Ukrainian governments instruct us to do so,\u201d Mr. Menell said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During Mr. Trump\u2019s first term, when Kremlin-backed troops were already waging war in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/11\/04\/us\/politics\/poroshenko-trump-ukraine.html\" title=\"\">won support from him<\/a>, including for weapons supplies, by buying coal from an important swing state, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Part of Ukraine\u2019s argument now is to emphasize that should it lose the war, its mineral resources would fall into the hands of Russia and its allies like China, which already dominates the global market for such materials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">John E. Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and now senior director of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Eurasia Center, said Ukraine\u2019s pitch was an obvious sell for Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt involves vast energy resources, economically valuable assets which are not abundant in the Western world, and it\u2019s a way to strip other competitors, including China, of their leverage over the United States,\u201d Mr. Herbst said. \u201cIt\u2019s a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last fall, work was underway to finalize and sign an agreement with the Biden administration to cooperate on extracting and processing minerals. But Ukrainian authorities decided to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/14\/world\/europe\/trump-ukraine-russia.html\" title=\"\">postpone the signing of the deal<\/a> and offer it to Mr. Trump instead so that he could claim credit for it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A Ukrainian delegation led by Yulia Svyrydenko, the economy minister, then traveled to New York and Washington in December for meetings with U.S. officials and business representatives, with critical minerals as a central topic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ms. Svyrydenko outlined potential energy deals, including the acquisition of production licenses for critical minerals. A presentation, seen by The Times, emphasized that Ukraine was \u201ccapable of building the entire value chain to meet U.S. and E.U. metallic titanium demand for 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Matthew Murray, chairman of the advisory board of Velta, a Ukrainian titanium extraction company, said Ms. Svyrydenko had asked him and other U.S. business representatives for their help in making Ukraine\u2019s case to the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe spent a good deal of this meeting talking about critical raw materials,\u201d Mr. Murray said. He added that the exploitation of these resources could become a new pillar of the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">What shape this pillar may take remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A draft of the agreement that Kyiv postponed, and which was reviewed by The Times, included only pledges to share information and expertise on potential partnerships. It contained no financial commitments and was nonbinding. It is unclear whether Kyiv and Washington will amend the agreement to align it with Mr. Trump\u2019s latest proposals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Murray, a former Obama administration official, said one idea circulating in Washington was to offer Ukraine a loan to purchase U.S. weaponry, with access to critical minerals as collateral. This proposal could align with Mr. Trump\u2019s vision, who has talked of obtaining a \u201cguarantee\u201d for continued American assistance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere are many steps yet to be taken, but the concept is very viable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Marian Prysiazhniuk contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/12\/world\/europe\/trump-ukraine-rare-earth-minerals.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To Ukraine, they are a chit to play in an ongoing appeal to President Trump for more financial and military support. To Mr. Trump, they should be overdue payment for billions of dollars committed to Kyiv\u2019s war effort. Either way, Ukraine\u2019s vast and valuable mineral resources have suddenly become a prominent component in the maneuvering [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/11\/multimedia\/00ukraine-trump-minerals-01-jfwt\/00ukraine-trump-minerals-01-jfwt-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[18120,2294,137233,163575,164576,30130,3096,168195,79789,176570,164578,24050,75748,185133,202,11030,52,1130,128437],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237500"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237502,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237500\/revisions\/237502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}