"No one can demand anything here, especially not from Russia."

Russia is one of the undisputed leaders in the world in terms of rare-earth metal reserves, and it is ready to offer US or other foreign partners participation in projects for their extraction, including in Donbas and Novorossiya. Vladimir Putin said this to journalist Pavel Zarubin on February 24. In addition, the President suggested thinking about joint projects with the United States for aluminum production, for example, in the Krasnoyarsk region - Moscow is ready to supply 2 million tons to the American market. Also, the President commented on the difficult situation of the Europeans and some decisions of Donald Trump, for example, called good the proposal of the American colleague to reduce military spending of the Russian Federation and the United States.

US-Ukraine deal on rare earth metals

Vladimir Putin on the evening of February 24 gathered a meeting dedicated to the development of the rare earth metals industry. This issue has already been in the head of state's field of vision: at the Future Technologies Forum last week, the president announced the need to multiply their production. The development of this industry in Russia is the most important resource base of the modern economy, as rare metals are in demand in microelectronics, energy, in the creation of infrastructure for the digital economy, in many sectors of the civil and defense sectors, said Vladimir Putin. In fact, we are talking about almost all sectors of the new technological mode, which sets the dynamics of global progress. By 2030 Russia needs to establish a full cycle of processing of rare-earth metals, it is necessary for the development of the economy and defense industry of the country. Development of the industry is necessary for successful competition on world markets and development of the most important spheres of the Russian economy.

- In order to increase the potential of the domestic industry in the field of new materials, a national project of technological leadership was launched this year. It is called "New Materials and Chemistry". Among other things, within the framework of the national project, the entire range and full cycle of the rare and rare-earth metals industry will be established, their extraction and processing will be ensured up to the production of finished high-tech goods with high added value. The volume of output of such products as a result of the national project should grow by multiples," he said at the meeting.

A similar topic is being discussed on the other side of the globe: Washington is concerned about this issue in the context of Ukraine. Earlier, the British magazine The Economist quoted sources as saying that Ukraine will have to transfer 50% of its future state revenues from natural resources and port infrastructure to a new investment fund, which will be owned by the U.S. government; Kiev will have to fill this fund until its size reaches $500 billion. The publication pointed out that at the current rate of growth of Ukraine's state revenues, it will take hundreds of years to replenish the fund.

In early February, Donald Trump said that he was interested in obtaining rare-earth metals from Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky said on February 23 that he did not want to sign the agreement with the United States because, as he claimed, "10 generations of Ukrainians will pay for it," but on February 24 he said that Ukraine plans to sign a mineral agreement in Washington.

According to Jeremy Kuzmarov, editor-in-chief of Covert Action magazine and an American journalist, Donald Trump is trying to get concessions from Volodymyr Zelensky regarding Ukrainian rare earths in exchange for the billions of dollars the US has invested in Ukraine, but Zelensky was unwilling to do so. This has angered many members of the American public who believe that the U.S. has gotten nothing from Ukraine in return for the $300 billion American taxpayers have spent.

- Zelensky is now becoming a negative character, whereas he was once portrayed as a model democratic leader. If Putin is willing to make some concessions to the U.S. and allow it to reap the economic benefits of recalibrating its relationship with Russia, many in the States would support Trump's acceptance of the deal (and, in turn, an end to the Ukraine conflict and a warming in U.S.-Russian relations). Putin's image in the U.S. media (especially conservative media) could also be rehabilitated if the deal goes through," Jeremy Kuzmarov said.

The deal may take place, but one should not rely here solely on everything that has been previously said in the context of the Ukrainian settlement, says Herbert Reginbogin, a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington. Trump approaches this issue as a commercial deal and does not take into account, for example, international law, he added.

Prospects for Russian Federation-US cooperation on metals

After the meeting, Vladimir Putin spoke with journalist Pavel Zarubin partly on the same topic. However, the president did not comment on a possible agreement between the US and Kiev, emphasizing that "it's none of our business." At the same time, resources of rare-earth metals in Ukraine still need to be assessed, Putin said.

- By the way, we would be ready to offer [cooperation] to our American partners as well - when I say partners, I mean not only administrative and governmental structures, but also companies - if they showed interest in joint work. We certainly have an order of magnitude - I want to emphasize this - an order of magnitude more resources of this kind than Ukraine. Russia is one of the undisputed leaders in terms of reserves of these rare and rare-earth metals," the president told a journalist.

They are mined in the North, in the Caucasus and in the Far East, he specified. Moscow is ready to work with foreign partners in the development of rare earth metals, including in Donbass and Novorossiya, Vladimir Putin said. Washington is also interested in Russia's "huge reserves" of such metals and its other "very valuable resources," Donald Trump said earlier before talks at the White House with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. However, he noted that the United States also has "things" that could be of interest to Russia.

- As the United States intends to counter China's growing influence, the issue of its resource endowment takes on a different character. Against this background, Moscow is quite ready to offer Washington a favor, but in exchange for concessions on issues of vital importance to Russia <...> In fact, the contours of a new world are emerging, where Russia is ready to provide the U.S. with the necessary rare-earth metals, while Ukraine, due to its intransigence, loses territory and receives dubious security guarantees. At the same time, China is in a state of strategic uncertainty, while Europe is weakened and has to rebuild anew," Tigran Meloyan, an analyst at the Center for Mediterranean Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, tells Izvestia.

In addition, Vladimir Putin suggested thinking about joint work between Russia and the United States on aluminum mining, for example, in the Krasnoyarsk region. For example, the Russian Federation is ready to supply 2 million tons of aluminum to the American market. The fact is that the U.S. aluminum market is in a noticeable deficit: the country produces about 750 thousand tons of aluminum, while annual consumption is more than 4 million tons. The US imports about 70-80% of aluminum, covering the deficit mainly through supplies from Canada, the UAE, China and other countries.

Putin on Trump's role in the Ukrainian settlement

Separately, the President touched on the topic of negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement. Vladimir Putin incidentally said that Europe's participation in the negotiation process is in demand, but "probably no one can demand anything here, especially not from Russia." He noted that he "essentially" did not discuss the resolution of the conflict with Trump. The condition for working out a solution remains "increasing the level of trust between" Russia and the United States. At the same time, Vladimir Putin does not agree with the thesis that Trump's harsh criticism of Zelensky plays into the hands of Russia.

- The fact is that the current head of the Kiev regime is becoming a toxic figure for the armed forces of Ukraine, because he gives ridiculous orders, dictated not by military considerations, but by political considerations, and it is unclear what they are based on, - said the head of state.

In this regard, continued Vladimir Putin, Moscow, on the one hand, is interested in Zelensky "to sit and further degrade the regime" with which Russia is in an armed conflict. But from the point of view of the interests of strengthening the Ukrainian statehood, it is necessary that people who will enjoy the trust of the people of Ukraine come to power in the country.

The Russian president said that in case of the presidential election, Zelensky has no chance of winning. Even Valery Zaluzhny, the former commander of the AFU twice the rating is higher. "There are absolutely no chances of the current regime to win the election. They are equal to zero. Well, unless, of course, something is roughly rigged," the president added.

In any case, Moscow wants Ukraine to eventually turn into a friendly neighboring state and not to be used as a springboard for attacks on Russia.

The president also referred to Kiev's European allies, who on February 24 announced new military measures to support Ukraine, contrary to the renewed dialog between Moscow and Washington.

- They have said and promised too much, and now, pardon the simplicity of expression, it is very difficult or practically impossible to get away from this position without losing face," the President emphasized.

On the contrary, the new head of the White House has his hands free "from these fetters, which do not allow to move forward and work towards the resolution of the conflict." Separately, Vladimir Putin confirmed the US leader's words that Russian and US companies are discussing major economic projects within the framework of the Ukrainian settlement. Regarding Trump's proposal to cut military budgets, Putin thinks it is a "good idea" for both the U.S. and Russian Federation to cut defense spending by 50%. "Well, the People's Republic of China would then join in if it wants to". The opinion of the BRICS countries, which have created a group of peace advocates, is important for Russia. It is to meet in New York in the near future to discuss the situation around Ukraine.