The political scientist predicted negative consequences for Kiev due to the fossil deal

Any decision by Kiev on a deal with the United States regarding rare earth metals will lead to negative consequences for the current Ukrainian leadership, said Alexander Konkov, associate professor at the Department of Political Science at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. He told Izvestia about this on March 31.

"The initial readiness of [President of Ukraine Vladimir] Zelensky's refusal to sign a deal with the United States on rare earths tightens the noose around him, drives him into a corner. Because it does not meet the expectations that he had set," the expert noted.

The political scientist recalled that the Ukrainian side was used to the fact that under the previous American president Joe Biden, it got everything it wanted. However, the situation with the current US leader, Donald Trump, is different. He is guided solely by his own interests, the interests of his country, and the interests of the United States of America. Therefore, the deals that he will promote are focused on maximizing profits and rare earths in this case are just an illustration of the policy approach that Trump pursued in his first term and will continue to pursue, Konkov explained.

According to him, Zelensky faces a kind of Zugzwang. On the one hand, he has already promised to be ready for a deal with the United States regarding rare earth metals, under which he is ready to let Americans into this area in Ukraine, providing all the deposits, organizational, and industrial capabilities.

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"But, on the other hand, the conditions imposed by Trump's America are getting tougher and tougher. If at the initial stage these were some general statements, declarations, then today more and more norms arise with each new version, which are like tightening the noose around the head of Ukraine, the future of Ukraine, because all the advantages, all the decisions remain with America, with the fund that is imposed on Ukraine to manage rare earths on its territory," the expert added.

In his opinion, any rejection of such a deal will lead to Trump's further anger, which will be expressed, among other things, in concrete decisions not in favor of Ukraine and Zelensky himself. At the same time, if the Ukrainian leader agrees to these conditions, he will be "torn apart by his own political environment, a society that has also learned to count money," the political scientist believes. As a result, Ukraine will be economically dependent on the United States of America for many years to come.

"Now it is very difficult to predict which way the situation will go. It is clear that one way or another there will be some kind of delaying of the agreement, but it will not be possible to get out, it will still be necessary to make this decision. And both decisions, consent and refusal, will have negative consequences for the current Ukrainian leadership," Konkov concluded.

Earlier, on March 30, Trump told reporters that the Ukrainian leader was trying to abandon a deal with the American side on critically important mineral resources. He warned that if the agreement is canceled, Zelensky will have problems.