Donald Trump's demand related to Ukraine's natural resources is "worse than reparations for Germany and Japan after their defeat in World War II", writes "Daily Telegraph".
The Donald Trump administration's proposal to Ukraine for access to rare earth metals goes far beyond mineral extraction. The request also includes oil, gas, ports and other infrastructure, claims "Daily Telegraph", referring to the draft document.
The conditions are "tantamount to economic colonization of Ukraine by the US" and "imply an unbearable burden of reparations", the publication writes. According to him, the document has “caused confusion and panic in Kiev“.
The draft document envisages the US and Ukraine creating a joint investment fund to ensure that “hostile parties to the conflict will not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine“. The agreement covers “mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed)“. What exactly the latter refers to is not specified.
The Trump administration wanted the US to take half of Ukraine's current revenues from the extraction of valuable resources, as well as half of the value of “all new licenses (for resource extraction. - ed. note) issued to third parties“. Such revenues would be subject to seizure by the US. “This clause means - “pay us first, then feed your children“, a source close to the negotiations explained to the newspaper. The agreement states that “for all future licenses, the US reserves the right to buy minerals first for export.“
Worse than reparations after World War II
According to the newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially proposed the idea of the US receiving a share in the extraction of Ukrainian rare earth metals. According to the “Daily Telegraph” his idea was that if American companies started operations in Ukraine, this could deter Russia from attacking.
“Zelensky probably did not expect to face the conditions that are usually imposed on aggressor states defeated in war. They are worse than the financial sanctions imposed on Germany and Japan after their defeat in 1945,“ the British publication points out. If the draft agreement is adopted, Trump's demands will be higher (as a share of Ukraine's GDP) than the reparations imposed on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles, notes the “Daily Telegraph“.
Zelensky has rejected Trump's idea
Earlier, the publication revealed that the Trump administration had offered Kiev to transfer to Washington the rights to 50% of Ukraine's rare earth deposits. In return, the United States was ready to deploy American troops there to protect them, provided that an agreement with Russia was first reached to end the war.
Zelensky refused to sign the document, as it did not include specific security guarantees. The Ukrainian president has explicitly emphasized that it is very important for him that every investment be tied to security guarantees, the “Daily Telegraph" also points out.