International

Putin Offers US Access to Russian Minerals

Published

1 month ago

Feb 25, 2025.

Dennis

Putin offers US access to Russian minerals, including in occupied Ukraine.
Trump pushes Ukraine to trade mineral rights for US support.
Kremlin signals willingness for US-Russia cooperation on resource extraction.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed openness to granting the United States access to rare minerals, including those from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

His comments come as former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for Ukraine to surrender some of its mineral resources in exchange for American support. According to a Ukrainian minister, negotiations on such a deal are nearing completion.

In a state TV interview on Monday, Putin stated that Russia was willing to “offer” resources to American partners through joint projects, including mining operations in Russia’s “new territories”—a term he uses to describe parts of eastern Ukraine occupied by Russian forces since the full-scale invasion three years ago. He also proposed US-Russia cooperation on aluminium extraction and supply to stabilize prices.

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Putin dismissed concerns about a potential US-Ukraine minerals agreement, asserting that Russia holds “significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine.” He reiterated that Russia was open to working with foreign partners, including American companies, in developing mineral deposits.

“As for the new territories, we are ready to attract foreign partners to these so-called new, or rather, historical territories that have returned to the Russian Federation,” Putin said.

Additionally, he suggested that the US and Russia could collaborate on aluminium production in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, where Russian metals giant Rusal operates some of the world’s largest smelters. His comments followed a cabinet meeting on Russia’s natural resources.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the proposal as offering “broad prospects,” emphasising that the US has a strong demand for rare earth minerals while Russia possesses vast reserves.

Putin’s offer marks a striking shift, as the Kremlin has long prided itself on keeping Russia’s natural wealth under tight state control. In 2023, Putin accused the West—particularly the US—of seeking to “dismember” Russia to exploit its vast natural resources.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has been under growing pressure from the Trump administration to grant the US access to its mineral deposits. Kyiv estimates that around 5% of the world’s critical raw materials are located in Ukraine, though some of these deposits have been seized by Russian forces since the war began.

Earlier this month, Trump claimed that US military and economic aid to Ukraine had reached $500 billion (£396 billion) and argued that Washington should gain access to Ukrainian minerals of equal value. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has disputed that figure and reportedly seeks security guarantees as part of any resource-sharing deal.