Trump said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to begin negotiations immediately, with plans to meet in Saudi Arabia. Trump’s top officials are in Europe this week huddling with Ukrainian and European officials on plans to end the war.
Ukraine is offering itself as a reliable partner in the global competition for key mineral resources — if occupying Russian forces are ousted from Ukrainian territory where some of these resources are located.
“We have a lot of rare sources, rare materials, which is crucially important for weapon production. We explained to our colleagues as now, under Russian control, our eastern part, where there are a lot of these resources,” Lesia Zaburanna, a Ukrainian member of Parliament, told The Hill, following meetings in Washington D.C. last week.
“For us it’s very important to liberate [these territories] because in this case, these resources will be developed by Ukraine and the USA. But not Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was in Kyiv on Wednesday and said that a minerals deal with Washington would provide Ukraine with a post-war “security shield.”
“Security matters. Moscow and its allies cannot be allowed to gain control over Ukraine, and that means we must work together—across the free world,” Zelensky posted on X about his meeting with Bessent.
Read more from Rachel and our colleague Laura Kelly at TheHill.com.
