"Have a lot"

How Moscow is now tempting Trump with rare earths

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin takes part in a video conference on rare earths from his stately villa in Novo-Ogaryovo.(Bild: APA/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

While an agreement between Washington and Kiev in this regard is about to be signed, the Kremlin is booming: Russia also has plenty of this precious mineral resource - and is offering a deal.

"The Americans need rare earth metals, we have a lot of them," explained Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Moscow on Tuesday. "We have our own plans for the development of strategic resources, but there are fairly broad prospects for cooperation here. The USA and Ukraine are currently negotiating an agreement on access to raw materials to compensate for war aid.

President Vladimir Putin emphasized on state television only on Monday that his country is open to joint projects with American partners. US head of state Donald Trump, in turn, has already held out the prospect of "major economic development transactions with Russia".

Trump also declared this week that the planned agreement with Ukraine was close to being concluded. This is intended to compensate Kiev for the American support it has received so far in the fight against the Russian war of aggression. Putin, on the other hand, emphasized that these negotiations are of no concern to Russia.

Kremlin initially seeks normalization with Washington
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals used in the production of magnets. They are needed for electric vehicles, cell phones, missile systems and other electronic devices. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Russia has the world's fifth largest reserves - after China, Brazil, India and Australia.

Peskov warned that there was still much to be done to normalize relations between Moscow and Washington before any economic agreements could be concluded. "The next item on the agenda is to resolve the Ukraine crisis," said Peskov. After that, trade, economic cooperation and investments could be examined. If there is political will, then Russia would be open to cooperation on rare earths, Peskov added.

Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. The war-torn country and its European allies now fear that the USA will end its support. Last week, Trump called the Ukrainian president a "dictator" and implied that Ukraine had started the war.