Washington is pressing Kiev to sign billions of mineral wealth for continued support.
Ukrainian soils contain approximately 5% of the world’s rare earth mineral deposits.
US President Donald Trump is seeking a share of these resources in exchange for the billions sent to Ukraine to support Washington’s war with Russia.
Trump is calling for Kiev to sign a right worth about $500 million in its mineral wealth.
Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky rejected the initial draft of the deal, saying “we cannot sell the state.”
But at what point does selling a state seem to save the state? And how practical is it to extract resources from war-covered Ukraine?
Presenter: Cyril Vanier
guest:
Peter Zalmaev – Executive Director of Eurasian Democracy Initiative, Political Scientist and Commentator
Anatole Riven – Director of the Eurasian Program at Quincy Institute for Responsible Three-Dimensional Learning
Teresafalon – Senior Fellow Director, Chicago Global Affairs Council, Center for European and Asian Studies, Center for Russia