We have supposedly come to an agreement with Ukraine over its mineral wealth:
Under the terms of the agreement, Ukraine would pay some proceeds from future mineral resource development into a fund that would invest in projects in Ukraine.... The size of the U.S.’s stake in the fund and joint ownership deals will be hashed out in future agreements.
Well that's clear as mud—and it's the best explanation I could find. Does this mean the US gets money out of the deal? Or minerals? It's not clear to me that we really need any money from Ukraine, though Trump himself sure seems obsessed by the idea. But the minerals themselves are pretty valuable to us, so . . .
In any case, Zelensky is due in Washington on Friday to sign the deal, so presumably all the deets will be available by then.
It's a smart move by Zelensky. Since there's an actual war going on, mineral production should be negligible for years. Get weapons and money, give up next to nothing. After Trump has been removed, default on the deal or renegotiate it. Ukraine gets everything it needs while Trump is played like a fiddle again.
This was Zelenskyy's idea in the first place, was just a matter of an equitable deal (and another instance where Trump will likely try to take credit and a victory lap for something that was already happening or someone else's plan).
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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-us-economic-deal-rare-earth-minerals/
"The idea was initially proposed last fall by Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv's hand in future negotiations with Moscow."
If the deal is we get access to minerals in all the areas currently controlled by Russia and this motivates Trump to actually fight Russia I'm all for it. The past three years have been a brutal meatgrinder during which Europe and US gave Ukraine enough help not to be overwhelmed but not enough to fully hold back Russia or take back what was lost. If we now give them the necessary support to win I will be ecstatic.
And see https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-ukraine-peace-talks-donald-trump-russia-war-200-billion-kremlin-us-politics-g20/. If Trump actually motivates Europe to seize Russia's $200B and use it to fund the war I will be ecstatic. Note by the way the idiocy of the people who want ot hold that money to fund reconstruction. That is as stupid as it would have been to starve the WWII war effort of funds in order to have money for the Marshall Plan later.
Who are you and what have you done with the other person who used to comment using this name?
I've always complained that Biden should have treated the Russians the way they treated us during the Korean War.
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/196389/soviet-pilots-over-mig-alley/
Blood debts must be paid in full with interest. Compound interest over 75 years adds up to a serious shit load. At 7% it's about 160X. Once that bill is paid in full we also owe them for Vietnam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-to-air_combat_losses_between_the_Soviet_Union_and_the_United_States#Vietnam_War. If we pay that bill in full with interest and the ones for the smaller incidents during the Cold War then I see no reason not to rack up a positive balance with them since we owed them so much for so long.
I belong to the wing of the Republican Party that believes in standing by our friends and destroying our enemies. I am consistent - I also opposed Biden's craven abandonment of our allies in Afghanistan. Can you say the same?
The "craven" deal was made by trump - always a bully, cheat, & liar.
Instead of the principals negotiating a real deal, he chose to undermine the legitimate Afghan government by dealing ONLY with the Taliban, then had to be denied a "celebration" - again excluding the elected Afghan officials - by bringing the Taliban, and organization as uncommitted to the truth as trump himself - to Camp David! Mercifully, his own staff prevented that obscene meeting on US soil.
Naturally, the obvious lack of support for the government led to increased confidence & activity by the Taliban.
And then? He deliberately left the difficult part to Biden instead of planning & executing the withdrawal himself. That may be your idea of a smart plan, but that was the craven part.
i overcame my usual resolve to simply ignore any advice or blame you have for Democrats or "lefties" due to the hypocrisy of the rightwing about this event & so many others.
My Kansas family members were Lincoln Republicans for a reason. There are decades of excellent reasons why I voted for only two Marylanders under that label in 1964 and now vote a straight Democratic ticket, while mrmbers of your party childishly refuse to use the correct name of mine.
+1
I have not seen where this deal means Ukraine gets future military aid. I guess it at least opens the possibility.
But it seems Trump can still cut off military aid at any time. In fact, this is the big stick Trump is waiting use on Ukraine, once Trump and Putin fully agree on all the terms of the ceasefire deal. So, Ukraine agrees and signs the deal, or Trump cuts off all aid. Sounds very Trumpian. Bully the weak until you get what you want.
They are still set to negotiate this part when they meet before signing the deal.
The European countries, including Ukraine itself, have ramped up their munitions production to the point where they can sustain Ukraine without the US.
WTF does Ukraine get? Nothing I've read says anything. But I find it dubious that Ukraine will get anything not approved by Putin.
For my money it's a bit of kayfabe cooked up by Kellogg and Zelenskyy to give Trump something to brag about for a few days until he gets attracted by another shiny object. It's a mystery how a high-risk mining venture is supposed to generate profits for its private sector owners plus provide additional revenue for an "investment fund" while still being viable in global commodity markets.
There are ‘severance taxes’ on extraction industries in many jurisdictions. I knew Norway has an enormous sovereign wealth fund, I just checked, the tax on Norway’s North Sea gas/oil wells is 78% on net income.
The Norwegian government owns two thirds of Equinor, the company extracting its oil, so basically it's taxing itself. Its operating costs are less than $20 a barrel, compared to about $55 a barrel for fracking operations in the US. I imagine any mining operation in Ukraine will be comparatively costly for the foreseeable future.
Gas and oil are extremely variable in cost. High taxes can be collected on low cost production; the Middle Eastern oil producers basically fund their governments by charging high taxes on cheap oil. High cost production, like the oil from the Canadian tar sands, simply can't return as much revenue to the relevant government and remain competitive in the market.
Exactly
Trump got something confusing enough that he can claim victory. He may even believe it.
“He may even believe it.”
There’s no doubt about that.
It is not whether he believes it is a victory.
It is whether he feels he can bamboozle at least some of the public to see it as a victory.
Aren’t “things green” the main driver of rare earths demand these days?
Maybe someone can convince him that's what they make Bitcoin out of.
Sounds like a part of the proceeds of Ukraine's mining operations will go to pay for reconstruction and weapons/ammo going forward, but in a way that allows the US -- the convicted felon, that is -- to claim credit for. More or less what Zelensky claims to have proposed a while back, before the convicted felon initially brought up the subject publicly.
It also seems to be a bargaining chip, showing to Putin that Ukraine will be able to continue this war of attrition of Russia's military power until Russia collapses.
But I think Ukraine can't trust a man with an unstable personality nor a country that would elect such a person. As a result, the baseline expectations should be that the US may, at any time, suddenly pull back from Europe and possibly leave NATO, too.
If I were Zelensky, I would be quietly and rapidly developing an arsenal of dirty bombs as an interim deterrent until a mature nuclear weapons program has produced tactical/strategic nukes.
Given Trump's history of deals, I expect we got very little. But I do wonder if we'll hear something about the Burisma BS.
This. Foreign leaders know that you can sucker Trump into bad deals if you just give him the ability to look tough and smart on center stage.
That's all Trump wants out of these deals. He doesn't have any interest in long term benefits to the US or Americans....he will gladly sell us all out for a good moment on TV.
Putin has yet to voice his opinion on this deal. I look forward to seeing Trump completely abandon it in favor of a deal that benefits Russia. A real-estate deal in Moscow or a part of Ukraine that Russia will annex in a peace deal with Trump will do the trick.
In Trump 1.0, he routinely had agreements with Democrats--complete with photo ops....then blow them (the agreements) up. He couldn't take yes for an answer.
But what about the vespene gas?
A significant portion (40% plus) of the valuable rare earth found in Ukraine (lithium, graphite cobalt etc) are located in areas currently controlled by Russia.
This deal will probably not equal a lot of money for the US/this deal is for show.
https://me.smenet.org/what-are-ukraines-rare-earths-and-why-does-trump-want-them/
Like everything else since inauguration day.
Look for the kayfabe in every Trump action.
What's a Trump agreement worth? Bupkis.
A Trump agreement and $8 will get you a dozen eggs.
He couldn't get any dirt on Biden so he'll settle for what he can get out of the dirt in Ukraine. Both examples of extortion that right-wing media and the MSM to some extent will misrepresent as anything other than extortion.
The supporters of NATO and Ukraine should be content Trump has granted Zelensky the right to fight a war against Russia with this 'deal' for rare earth minerals.