Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Putin offers Trump rare earth metals in eastern Ukraine
Joachim Kerpner
Updated 13.18 | Published 13.11
Quick version
- Vladimir Putin offers the US the opportunity to work with Russia to extract rare earth metals in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
- Putin criticizes Volodymyr Zelenskyj as a "toxic figure" and accuses him of refusing negotiations with Russia, even though Zelenskyj has said he is willing to negotiate.
- Putin expresses a desire that Ukraine should not be used as a base for attacks on Russia and says he is in favor of halving military spending in consultation with the US.
Now Vladimir Putin is entering negotiations on Ukrainian rare earth metals.
He offers Donald Trump to dig them up on occupied Ukrainian territory.
He also describes Volodymyr Zelensky as a “toxic figure for Ukraine.”
The three Russian demands on the US: “The Russians are rejoicing – the US has switched sides”1:56
In a television interview with russian journalist and propagandist Pavel Zarubin, Russian leader Vladimir Putin claims that Russia has nothing to do with the current agreement on rare earth metals between the US and Ukraine, which is expected to bring the US $500 billion.
In the next breath, Putin says that Russia has more rare earth metals than Ukraine, and adds that Russia is ready to mine them together with the US in the “new regions,” that is, in the occupied part of Ukraine:
“There are great resources there. We are ready to work there with our partners, including the Americans,” says Putin.
Ukrainian authorities have previously stated that there are natural resources worth 350 billion dollars in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin also claims in the television interview that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is toxic – poisonous – for both the country's army and population:
– The current leader of the Kiev regime is a toxic figure for the Ukrainian army, because he gives absurd orders.
Putin's claim about Zelenskyj
According to Putin, this leads to "catastrophic losses for the Ukrainian army". In the interview, Putin says nothing about his own invasion order, which has led to the deaths of up to 200,000 Russian soldiers, according to BBC calculatione.
Vladimir Putin claims that Zelensky is “toxic for the entire Ukrainian society”:
– With the decision to ban negotiations with Russia, he has driven himself into a dead end. He refuses to participate in the negotiations, Putin claims, despite Zelensky declaring that he would consider negotiating with Putin.
Putin claims that Zelensky does not want a peace settlement, because presidential elections will soon have to be called:
– Then the leader of the current regime will have problems, says Putin.
He claims that Zelensky will lose the presidential election and is terrified of it. However, the Russian leader does not mention in the television interview that Zelensky has already said that he is prepared to resign, in exchange for a good peace agreement for Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin also claims that he is not against Ukraine continuing to exist, but:
– We want that territory not to be used as a bridgehead for an attack on Russia, says the Russian leader.
Putin says that Europe is welcome to participate in the talks on Ukraine, but that it also “must take into account the opinions of other countries”, namely China.
Putin also likes Donald Trump's idea that the US and Russia should halve their military spending:
“The US could cut by 50 percent, and so could we. Then China could join in, if they want,” says the Russian leader, who recently pushed through a 30 percent increase in the country's defense budget by 2025.
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