Kremlin sees Trump's idea on Ukraine's metals as a commercial proposal

US President Donald Trump's statements about continuing aid to Ukraine on condition that Washington gives it access to the country's rare-earth resources are a commercial proposal. This statement was made by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on February 4.

"If we call things by their names, this is an offer to buy aid. That is, not to continue to provide it on a gratuitous or other basis, but precisely to provide it on a commercial basis," he said at a briefing.

In addition, Peskov clarified that arms deliveries to Ukraine by the United States will continue. According to him, "no one has announced about stopping arms deliveries".

At the same time, the Russian presidential spokesman noted that "it is better not to provide assistance at all" in order to contribute to the end of the conflict.

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The day before, Reuters reported that the United States had resumed arms deliveries to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) after a brief pause in January. According to the agency, supplies were restored last weekend. No shipments have been announced since Trump took office, but it is believed that the supplies, authorized by former US President Joe Biden, will take months to arrive due to the delay.

At the time, the American leader accused Biden of handing out US aid funds to Ukraine. According to him, at the moment the US is negotiating with Europe on the distribution of the financial contribution in order to equalize forces.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term of office expired on May 20, 2024) said that he had no idea where the $200 billion allocated by the United States for military aid had gone . According to him, Kiev has not received even half of the allocated aid.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev against the background of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which was announced by the Russian president on February 24, 2022, after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.