Putin Proposes Offering Russian and Ukrainian Rare Minerals to US

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed willingness to grant the United States access to rare minerals, including those sourced from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

This development follows repeated efforts by US President Donald Trump to negotiate a deal requiring Ukraine to relinquish some of its mineral resources in return for American support. According to a Ukrainian minister, this agreement is currently in the finalization stage.

During a state television interview on Monday, Putin stated his readiness to "offer" resources to American counterparts through joint projects, including mineral extraction in Russia's "new territories"—a term used to describe eastern Ukrainian areas that Russia has controlled since its large-scale military invasion three years ago.

Additionally, Putin suggested that the two nations could collaborate on aluminium extraction and supply to the US to stabilize market prices.

In his televised remarks, Putin addressed Trump’s push for access to Ukraine’s mineral resources, asserting that Russia is prepared to cooperate with "foreign partners," including companies involved in mineral mining.

Putin dismissed concerns over a potential US-Ukraine agreement on rare minerals, emphasizing that Russia "undoubtedly have, I want to emphasise, significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine."

"As for the new territories, it's the same. We are ready to attract foreign partners to the so-called new, to our historical territories, which have returned to the Russian Federation," he continued.

He also indicated that Russia and the US could potentially work together on aluminium production in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, where Rusal, a leading Russian aluminium manufacturer, operates some of its largest smelters.

These statements were made following a cabinet session focused on Russia’s natural resource policies.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov elaborated on Putin's proposal, describing it as presenting "quite broad prospects." He noted that the US has significant demand for rare earth minerals and that Russia possesses "a lot of them."

Putin’s offer is particularly striking given the Kremlin’s longstanding emphasis on maintaining Russian control over the nation’s natural resources. In 2023, Putin accused Western nations, particularly the US, of attempting to "dismember" Russia to gain access to its wealth of natural materials.

This development comes as Ukraine faces intensifying pressure from the Trump administration to sign an agreement granting the US access to its mineral reserves.

Kyiv estimates that approximately 5% of the world’s critical raw materials are located within Ukraine. However, a portion of these mineral-rich areas have fallen under Russian control since the onset of the war three years ago.

Earlier this month, Trump stated that US military and economic aid to Ukraine had reached approximately $500 billion (£396 billion) and argued that the US should secure access to Ukrainian minerals of equivalent value.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has disputed this figure and is reportedly seeking security guarantees as part of any mineral agreement.

On Monday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanishyna, described the negotiations as "very constructive, with nearly all key details finalised."

Meanwhile, in a separate approach, the European Union has proposed a mineral partnership with Ukraine. European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné described the arrangement as a "win-win" that would provide the EU with access to Ukrainian minerals.