Trump says Ukraine has agreed to provide the US with $500bn worth of minerals

Donald Trump, photo: aa.com.tr

US President Donald Trump claims that Ukraine has agreed to provide Washington with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion.

He said this in an interview with Fox News.

According to the Republican, Ukraine owns «extremely valuable land», in particular because of significant oil and gas deposits.

Donald Trump also noted that during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Kyiv. He stressed that he wants these funds «to be protected».

«They may or may not make a deal. One day they may or may not become Russian. But we have invested a lot of money in this, and I said: «I want it back». I told them directly: «I want the equivalent of about $500 billion in rare earth resources». And they generally agreed,» said Donald Trump.

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would like to conclude a deal under which Ukraine would supply the US with rare earth minerals needed for electronics production in exchange for US aid.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Donald Trump's proposal to provide Ukraine with military assistance in exchange for its minerals.

Olaf Scholz said that such an approach is «very selfish and self-centred», as Ukraine's resources should be used for its post-war recovery, and not used as a payment for support during the war.