US President Donald Trump has stated that the agreement on rare-earth resources concluded with Ukraine grants the United States access to Ukraine’s mineral resources and may prove more beneficial than the amount of US aid provided.
“We have concluded an agreement on rare-earth elements… We have a signed contract. As far as rare-earth resources are concerned, we can gain access to them at any time. We want to take practically whatever we want. It was quite a good deal,” Trump said in an interview with the ‘Voice of Real America’ television channel.
According to the US President, Ukraine is “very rich” in rare-earth resources, and the value of the agreement, in his view, could significantly exceed the amount of US aid.
He suggested that the cost of access to the resources could exceed US$300 billion, but that the contract is still a good deal and Washington will “get its money’s worth”.