Moscow and Washington have begun negotiations on joint projects in the field of rare earth element extraction and other projects in Russia, Russia's special envoy for international economic and investment cooperation told the publication “Izvestia“, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
“Rare earth elements are an important area of cooperation and, of course, we have begun discussions on various projects for rare earth elements and (other) projects in Russia“, he told “Izvestia“ Kirill Dmitriev, who is also the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
Following the negotiations between the US and Ukraine on the draft deal for Ukrainian rare earth elements, Putin proposed to the US, as part of a future economic agreement, to jointly explore Russian deposits.
Dmitriev, who was part of Russia's negotiating team during the talks with US representatives in Saudi Arabia in February, said that some companies have already expressed interest in the projects. He did not name the companies or provide further details.
„Izvestia“ reported that cooperation could be further discussed at the next round of Russian-American talks, which could take place in mid-April in Saudi Arabia.
Rare earth metals and other critical elements essential to high-tech industries have attracted global attention in recent months as US President Donald Trump began to boost efforts to counter China's dominant role in the sector.