Trump wants to set conditions for continued military and financial support: Ukraine must supply the US with valuable raw materials. The German Chancellor called this demand “selfish”. According to the Ukrainian mass media, Kiev is not against giving access to strategic deposits to its main partner.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned US President Donald Trump’s proposal to link further military aid to Ukraine with access to its valuable raw materials.
It would be “very selfish, very self-centered” to use the country’s resources to fund defense capabilities, Scholz said after an informal EU summit in Brussels on Monday.
The chancellor, quoted by Tagesschau, said rare earth metals should be used for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction.
“These are serious tasks, given the enormous destruction. Therefore, the country’s resources must be used to finance everything that is needed after the war is over,” Scholz emphasized.
The day before, President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate with Ukraine on access to rare earth materials needed to produce smartphones, electric cars and other high-tech products as a condition for continued U.S. support in the war against Russia.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump complained that the U.S. has sent more military and economic aid to Ukraine than its European partners, demanding a kind of compensation for Washington’s support of “nearly $300 billion.”
The White House chief said the Ukrainian government had told him it was willing to strike a deal to give the U.S. access to elements critical to a modern high-tech economy.
“I want to have guarantees regarding rare earth elements,” the billionaire added.
Trump also once again harshly criticized his predecessor, but in a new context: “Biden never asked them for money. He never said, ‘You have to pay.’ He just handed out money,” Trump said, adding that he was working with Kiev to finalize ‘some deals’ to ensure Washington’s support was guaranteed.
Earlier, Trump said he would achieve an end to the war in 24 hours, but now he says truce talks are moving in the right direction. “We’ve made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine. We’ll see what happens. We’re going to stop this ridiculous war,” he stated.
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