Russia – USA: Negotiations on Rare Earth Metals Begin
Trump said Zelensky “wants out of the rare earth metals agreement” and that he would “regret it bitterly if he actually did that”
United States President Donald Trump has accused Ukraine of wanting to “distance itself from the USA on rare earth metals”; meanwhile, Russia has announced that it “has started talks with Washington on projects related to the joint production of rare earth metals.”
“Zelensky is trying to get out of a rare earth metals deal with the United States, and if he actually does that, he’s going to be in big trouble, very big trouble,” Trump told reporters.
Immediately after Trump’s stern warning, Ukraine held an online technical conference on the rare earth metals agreement. The RBC Ukraine news agency quoted an informed source as saying that “an online meeting of a technical nature was held, which was attended by MPs, lawyers, and some representatives of the Ukrainian government. They have started discussing this agreement, now they will come up with an initial vision, after which they will talk to the Americans,” the agency source said.
At the same time, Russia does not intend to drag out the process and announces “concrete and intensive” negotiations with the USA on joint projects in the rare-earth metals industry. In an interview with Izvestia, Kirill Dmitriev (pictured), director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and President Vladimir Putin’s personal representative at the talks with the Americans, confirmed that US companies are interested in possible agreements in this area.
According to Izvestia, a new meeting between representatives of Moscow and Washington could take place in mid-April again in Riyadh, as part of a broader bilateral political and economic dialog. Earlier in his speech at the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, in northern Russia, Putin emphasized that the Russian Federation “has very significant reserves of rare earth metals,” but “production and processing are still limited.” Thus, the Kremlin is ready to launch joint projects with the USA, as the demand in the United States for these strategic materials is constantly growing: the USA is currently dependent on imports, mainly from China. Experts, however, note that “cooperation between the two countries may face obstacles, including Western sanctions,” as well as “the need to develop a regulatory framework that would allow US companies to invest in Russia.”
This was also confirmed by Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to whom Russia and the USA have not yet signed documents on joint projects in the field of rare earth metals: “No, no documents have been signed. You know that the sanctions are still in place, so there are restrictions for American companies,” Peskov told reporters.
