U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (February 2) that he might meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. During an interview, Zelensky showed a previously confidential map of Ukraine's rare earth deposits and expressed his willingness to negotiate a "deal" with Trump.
Before the election, Trump criticized former President Joe Biden's administration for providing excessive aid to Ukraine and threatened to reduce military aid after taking office. He also said on the 3rd that he hopes to reach an agreement with Ukraine to allow the United States to access Ukraine's rare earth resources in exchange for the United States continuing to provide military and economic assistance to Kiev in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Trump said in an interview at the White House on the 7th that he might meet with Zelensky next week, but has not yet indicated whether it will be a face-to-face conversation or a video call. He mentioned, "We may meet in Washington, I don't plan to go to Kiev," and said, "From a humanitarian point of view, I hope to see this all end. This is an absurd war." However, Trump also reiterated that he wanted to talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he "has always had a good relationship."
Reuters reported that Zelensky showed a once confidential map during an interview on the 7th and said, "If a deal is to be negotiated, Ukraine would welcome it." But he also stressed that any agreement should include security guarantees for allies.
In fact, Ukraine proposed last year to open up the country's critical minerals to investment by its allies. Zelensky pointed out that Ukraine has Europe's largest titanium deposits and rich uranium deposits. Titanium is crucial to the aviation and space industries, while uranium is an important raw material for the manufacture of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. Rare earths also play an important role in the manufacture of high-performance magnets, electric motors and consumer electronics, but most of these resources are located in the eastern Ukraine currently occupied by Russian troops.
In recent months, the Russian army has invested a lot of resources to continue its advance in eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine has been caught in a tough battle due to a shortage of troops and unstable international military aid.
In response, Zelensky warned that Russia might provide these resources to its allies such as North Korea and Iran. He stressed that Ukraine would not "give away" these resources for free, and said that the United States provides the most assistance to Ukraine and should have "priority", and hopes to have a dialogue with Trump on this issue.
