Western publications are commenting on the mineral agreement between the US and Ukraine this morning.
The British newspaper "Telegraph" published the full text of the draft agreement, as well as its own analysis of the significance of the main points for the future of Ukraine and the world. The newspaper writes that by agreeing to support "a free, sovereign and secure Ukraine", the US is offering a compromise that does not directly commit to the country's defense. The text of the possible deal states that the US and Ukraine recognize Ukraine's contribution to strengthening international peace and security through its voluntary renunciation of the world's third-largest arsenal of nuclear weapons. According to the British publication, this wording makes it clear that the war with Russia could have been avoided.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly raised the issue of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which promised guarantees for Ukraine's security from the US, UK, France and Russia in exchange for Kiev giving up its arsenal of nuclear weapons inherited from the USSR, explains the "Telegraph" and adds that neither Washington, London nor Paris, however, offer sufficient guarantees to prevent Russia's invasion of Donbas in 2014 or its full-scale invasion eight years later.
Another British newspaper - "The Guardian", believes that there is another important reason for Trump to want to acquire minerals important to Ukraine, and that is China. More than ever, the Asian superpower is now the world's factory, meaning that wherever critical earth elements are located, they remain a key point in the supply chain, the publication writes. After Trump effectively triggered a trade war with China by imposing high tariffs on Chinese goods, US access to rare earth elements is potentially under threat, the daily adds. "The Guardian" comments that the world is engulfed in a fight for underground resources, which are the building blocks of the economy of the future, and if the US doesn't get them, someone else will.
The American newspaper "The New York Times" shares the same opinion, pointing out that Trump may be seeking access to rare earth elements to gain a geopolitical advantage over Beijing, as Ukraine could help break China's "near-monopoly" on some rare earth metals needed to make cellphones, other electronics and possibly future technologies.
The resources are valuable, but experts tell the publication that Zelensky's estimate is exaggerated. They say that much more research needs to be done to assess the true value of Ukraine's critical minerals, and the country's cumbersome bureaucracy and corruption limit investment in the matter.
The American version of the magazine "Politico" writes that Trump is eager to reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, but so far he has directed his pressure almost entirely at Zelensky, while repeating a number of Russian theses and agreeing in advance to some of the Kremlin's main demands on how to resolve the conflict. According to "Politico" The mineral deal with Ukraine will not end the war.
The publication notes that Trump said this week that Europe would be primarily responsible for military support for Ukraine, even after French President Emmanuel Macron reminded him during his visit to the White House on Monday that the strongest possible security guarantee requires US support.
The American newspaper "Washington Post" recalls that the idea for such an agreement stems from a plan presented by Zelensky last year, according to which his country's untapped mineral wealth could be used to finance the military effort. The publication reports that, according to some, this resembles an imperial demand to extract resources from a 19th-century colony.
"Washington Post" commented that the expected meeting between the Ukrainian and American leaders following Trump's attacks on Zelensky on social media gives Zelensky an opportunity to assess Trump's willingness to use US military power to deter future Russian attacks if a ceasefire agreement is reached - a condition that Kiev sees as crucial to its long-term survival.