EU faces off with US over Ukraine's precious resources
The European Union offered Ukraine its own agreement on "critical materials" on Monday, reports Politico. Donald Trump discusses joint extraction of Ukrainian resources and is pressuring Volodymyr Zelensky to sign an agreement on the rights to substantial natural resources.
The European Commissioner for Welfare and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, presented a competitive proposal to Ukrainian officials on Monday in Kyiv, during the European Commission's visit to mark the third anniversary of the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that's not mutually beneficial, commented Séjourné, quoted by Politico.
The EU wants cooperation with Ukraine
- 21 out of 30 critical materials that Europe needs can be provided by Ukraine as part of a partnership beneficial for both parties, said the French politician.
The EU's actions are a response to Donald Trump's demands, who is expecting a compensation of £400 billion from Kyiv for the support provided by the USA during the war with Russia.
"While Zelenskyy wants a deal, he has so far refused to sign two draft minerals agreements sent by the U.S. (...) Ukrainians are baffled by Trump's estimate of a $500 billion debt, while Zelenskyy described the new version of the proposed debt as credit with 100 per cent interest rate where he has to return two dollars for every dollar the US spent on aid to Ukraine," notes Politico.
The President of Ukraine has announced:"I am not signing something that will be paid by 10 generations of Ukrainians".
The great resource map
- Eyes may open when you consider several tens of titanium deposits, accounting for 30% of the known global deposits, or the accumulation of manganese ores in the eastern part of the country. Europe is short on titanium used in nuclear submarines. Meanwhile, graphite is used in metallurgy, electrical engineering, and battery production. Let's add 52 iron ore deposits, each with over 1 billion tonnes of resources, explained Prof. Piestrzyński.
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