U.S. President Donald Trump earlier said that “major economic development transactions with Russia” would take place. Within two hours of Trump’s statement, Putin chaired a meeting with his ministers and economic advisers on rare earth metals.
“We, by the way, would be ready to offer (joint projects with) our American partners, and when I say ‘partners,’ I mean not only administrative and governmental structures but also companies, if they showed interest in joint work,” Putin said on state TV after the meeting.
“We undoubtedly have, I want to emphasize, significantly more resources of this kind than Ukraine,” Putin added. He mentioned that a potential U.S.-Ukraine deal, opens new tab involving rare earth metals was not a concern for Russia.
Russia has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of rare earth metals, according to the U.S. Geological Survey data, after China, Brazil, India and Australia. Russia reserves are estimated at 3.8 million metric tons.
The rare earth metals are used to make magnets that turn power into motion for electric vehicles, cell phones, missile systems, and other electronics. Russia mines only 2,500 tons of concentrate a year and lacks capacity for processing.
Putin said that potential rare earth metals exploration deals could also be extended to deposits in territory in eastern Ukraine that Russia controls after three years of military action.
Putin noted that Russian companies could also supply up to 2 million tons of aluminum to the U.S. market annually if the U.S. market reopens. Russia used to provide up to 15% of U.S. aluminum imports before prohibitive duties were introduced in 2023.
This is terrific news. This should be the start of a solid, mutually beneficial relationship between USA and Russia. If cemented, this relationship would constitute the core of a Top of the World Alliance, involving USA, Russia, Europe (which ultimately cannot refuse), Japan, Canada and more. See other posts below for more on this topic. This alliance has been the worst missed great opportunity in world history. Properly fashioned, it will become the strongest and most beneficial alliance in world history. Trump and Putin are making deep game theory moves. This is how you end the war and go forward. This is an end-run around European and American intransigence. I am all but certain it is based on a true version of how the Ukraine War started, including USA’s and NATO’s demented roles. ABN
American Buddhist Net 