Trump's proposal to get rare metals from Ukraine is political move – analyst

He shared this opinion on Espreso TV.  

"I’ve long said that to stop the war, Western investments should have been attracted, factories built near the front even before the war, and then Putin would never have dared to attack American businesses. However, this would have required a different policy. But now, we’re talking about Trump’s statement that he wants access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals in exchange for U.S. military aid. It’s important to note that the largest deposits of rare earth metals are in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, either close to the front line or in areas that could potentially be attacked by Russia," Taran explained.  

The political scientist noted that the prospect of U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth metals is a long-term one. The extraction and supply of these metals would require halting the fighting first.  

"I believe that when Donald Trump made his statement about Ukraine's rare earth metals, he did so for political and strategic reasons. This statement was partly aimed at the American audience. During his campaign, Trump often emphasized that the U.S. was wasting money and receiving nothing in return. He also spoke about Ukraine, saying the U.S. helps Ukraine without any benefit. Now he needs to justify and explain why military aid continues to go to Ukraine. 

He also needs to retain leverage over Putin. That’s why this fairly good political strategy emerged—saying that U.S. support for Ukraine won’t be free anymore but will be exchanged for the rare earth metals in Ukraine. However, this is certainly not a matter of months, or even years, because to access the deposits, the fighting must stop," he mentioned.

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to trade Ukrainian rare earths for aid.