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Putin offers rare earth minerals deal to U.S. amid Ukraine war tensions

By isabelle // 2025-02-26

• Putin proposes U.S.-Russia joint mining ventures for rare earth minerals in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine.
• The offer counters Trump’s push to access Ukraine’s mineral wealth, which Zelensky resists.
• Putin highlights Russia’s vast rare earth reserves and offers 2 million tons of aluminum if U.S. sanctions are lifted.
• The proposal includes $15 billion aluminum projects in Siberia and access to lithium deposits in eastern Ukraine.
• The move aims to position Russia as a reliable resource partner amid ongoing U.S.-Russia tensions over Ukraine.

In a surprising turn of events, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled a willingness to cooperate with the United States on rare earth minerals, even as tensions over Ukraine’s resources escalate. Speaking in a televised interview on Monday, Putin proposed joint mining ventures in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine, offering a potential alternative to President Donald Trump’s push for access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth. The move comes as Trump seeks to recoup billions in U.S. aid to Ukraine by securing rights to its rare earth deposits, a demand Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has resisted. Putin’s overture marks a rare moment of potential collaboration between the two geopolitical rivals, with the Russian leader emphasizing his country’s vast reserves of rare earth metals and aluminum. “We would be happy to work together with any foreign partners, including American ones,” Putin said, adding that Russia is “one of the undisputed leaders in terms of reserves of these rare and rare-earth metals.”

A counteroffer to Trump’s Ukraine push

The Russian president’s proposal appears to be a direct response to Trump’s efforts to secure access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, which include titanium, iron, and uranium. Trump has framed the potential deal as a way to offset the estimated $500 billion in U.S. military and economic aid provided to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022. However, Zelensky has pushed back, demanding security guarantees and disputing the valuation of Ukraine’s resources. Putin, meanwhile, has sought to position Russia as a more reliable partner for the U.S., citing its superior reserves and willingness to collaborate. “We certainly have substantially, and I want to emphasize this, substantially more resources of this kind than Ukraine. Russia is one of the leaders in reserves of these rare earth metals,” Putin said. He also suggested that Russia could supply the U.S. with 2 million tons of aluminum if sanctions on Russian metals were lifted, a move he claimed would stabilize global prices.

What a U.S.-Russia deal might look like

Putin’s offer includes mining projects in both Russia and Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, which he referred to as “new territories.” He proposed inviting American companies to develop aluminum reserves in Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk region, estimating the initiative’s value at $15 billion. Additionally, he suggested that the U.S. could access mineral deposits in eastern Ukraine under Russian control, including a recently seized lithium deposit in the Donetsk region. The proposal raises questions about the feasibility of such cooperation, given the ongoing U.S. sanctions on Russia and the geopolitical tensions surrounding the Ukraine war. However, Putin framed the potential deal as a pragmatic step, emphasizing Russia’s readiness to work with American partners. The rare earth minerals proposal comes amid broader efforts to end the Ukraine war, with Trump claiming that a peace deal could be reached within weeks. The U.S. president has also hinted at a potential meeting with Zelensky to finalize an agreement on Ukraine’s resources, though Kyiv has expressed concerns about the terms. Meanwhile, Putin’s offer underscores Russia’s desire to reassert itself as a key player in global resource markets. By positioning itself as a viable alternative to Ukraine, Moscow may be seeking to weaken Kyiv’s negotiating position while opening the door to economic cooperation with the U.S. As these developments unfold, the battle for rare earth minerals has become a new front in the geopolitical struggle between the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine. Whether Putin’s proposal leads to tangible cooperation or is simply a strategic maneuver remains to be seen. Sources for this article include: FoxNews.com BBC.com CNN.com

Russia Ukraine Trump Putin big government risk chaos products rare earth minerals supply chain trade wars