5mo ago

US presented Ukraine with a document to access minerals but offered almost nothing

www.independent.co.uk

Summary

Ukrainian officials were advised not to sign a U.S. proposal on accessing rare earth minerals, as it prioritized U.S. interests and lacked security guarantees for Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The document, presented by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent during a Kyiv visit, was intended as compensation for U.S. aid.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy stressed any agreement must ensure both financial benefits and security for Ukraine amid ongoing Russian aggression, and Ukraine is preparing a counter proposal.

80 comments

Trump and the rest of the Putin-bootlickers can go fuck themselves.
May Europe do what the US is apparently no longer willing to, and provide Ukraine the necessary support to defend itself.
- And the people complaining that people who want to support Ukraine against an outside invasion are warmongers can go fuck themselves with a cactus.
  
  so edgy
- They are going to have to. But the western rules based order is as sickly there as it is everywhere else. Inconvenient laws are just ignored these days by European governments too, so it appears to be just a matter of time. (I hope I'm wrong, for what thats worth)
- Spoiler alert: it won't
- LOL They already lost with all the 'help'. Remember their great offensive where they got 1 potato field? It's over. But sure, let's kidnapp some teens and elderly to die for nothing
- Yes, it's vital for Europe to unite against aggression from russia. That, including invasion of Ukraine, is expanding with attacks on communication cables at sea.
  Maybe, symmetrically, Europe should support China's ambition on Taiwan, so to make people at the "white" House understand common sense.
  
  "Supporting Russia's ally to get back at Russia" doesn't make a lot of sense.
  
  You had me with the first sentence. Then you walloped me with that second big line of stupid.
  
  It's not difficult to support an enemy of the USA these days thankfully, just lend your support to Canada.
  They deserve it, and we need to stand with them against US Imperialist aggression.
  
  Europe should support China’s ambition on Taiwan
  lol. wow. I'm speechless. But I think you were snarking, so uh.
  
  You know two wrongs don't make a plus
So, let me know if I understand what the US is proposing. In exchange for getting Russia to agree to only annex a large chunk of the country (for now), Ukraine must cede a huge percentage of its natural resources to the US as payment. Is that about it?
- Yes. Once the US Trump has a signed agreement for the minerals he signs a treaty for Ukraine giving Russia whatever it wants but let's the US Trump keep the mineral rights.
  
  𝘗𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦™
- additionally this allows TRUMP To absolve russia of its crimes well.
  
  He's doing a lot of absolving other countries of their crimes lately.
- Trump is only capable of quid pro quos when it comes to... Well... Everything he does, I guess. He has no friends, and no allies... Only people he takes from, and in return they get something that was never his to begin with.
Even if the USA promised total war against Russia until Ukraine is completely free plus 50 years of protection, who would believe a single letter in an agreement with Murica today??
- That's not very fair, the US also promised Ukraine protection if they'd removed their nukes in the 90s...
  FYI
  When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine had the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal on its territory. When Ukrainian-Russian negotiations on removing these weapons from Ukraine appeared to break down in September 1993, the U.S. government engaged in a trilateral process with Ukraine and Russia. The result was the Trilateral Statement, signed in January 1994, under which Ukraine agreed to transfer the nuclear warheads to Russia for elimination. In return, Ukraine received security assurances from the United States, Russia and Britain; compensation for the economic value of the highly-enriched uranium in the warheads (which could be blended down and converted into fuel for nuclear reactors); and assistance from the United States in dismantling the missiles, missile silos, bombers and nuclear infrastructure on its territory.
  
  Well they had been receiving aid against Russia until now...
- They had to run in the middle of the night from their last base in Afghanistan. They are a joke
- Contracts like those always have extensive breach clauses for ass coverage for both sides.
  
  And who is going to enforce a breach?
  trump himself re-negotiated nafta and is now renegging on his own deal placing tariffs on Canada and Mexico
If Trump and Musk had just waited until some of these deals were inked before trying to plunder the US Treasury, they'd be in a much better position. If they're willing to treat their own people like an ATM, how are any of our allies supposed to take them at their word, or trust that the US is negotiating in good faith? And the notion that foreign aid should be paid for like a utility bill is, I think, a pretty foreign notion to most.
It's wild to me that the super-wealthy are still so insatiably greedy that they're tripping over their own feet here.
- That's because you're thinking of them as people like us instead of sociopaths.
  Extreme wealth is a disease.
  
  most of us if we had 10 million dollars would just stop working and go out adventuring across the world. billionaires, however, are set onto some sort of arcade game where the number next to their name when they die is the entire point. it's not fun for them. but they have to see the number go up because it's the only source of dopamine in their life
  
  A recent study shows a link between workaholics and erosion of moral values.
Trump sounds so weak ngl.
I've known people like this, who just take whatever they want as if they're entitled to it, but never a country. Weird, gives me the same feeling as if it was a person doing it... like, get the hell outta here and go earn your own stuff.
- It’s a much more complicated issue than that. Think of how much we have given to Ukraine to support them. Some semblance of ‘repayment’ is fair. But taking 50% of their mineral wealth is absolutely ridiculous. That is, practically, their security and future.
  What good does it do to exacerbate their post war economic crisis? Nothing.
  Why are we giving them security now, if we’re going to take 50% of their security afterwards? It’s so fucking backward.
  
  Repayment is not at all what this is about. We are talking about a man who was impeached over demanding Zelenskyy provide political dirt on his opponent in exchange for not disrupting aid shipments.
  
  You said it yourself: given
  
  Even with morals and literal colonialism aside, the US is not in any position to make demands as Europe is more than interested and willing to tide Ukraine over, carry it through this all.
  If the US wants to have money then stop donating and start selling instead, see if there's buyers. Simple as that. But then also don't expect to get a cut of the reparations.
  
  I understand it's not as simple as a personal one-on-one relationship... I was just remarking that it gives me the same feeling as if it was. Much of what's happening right now feels very personal to me, even though I know it isn't... when I find myself worrying about my loved ones and their futures, for example, I take it very personally what Trump's doing.
- It is a person doing it. Just happens to be running the country.
  
  Unfortunately, a lot of people in that country support him, so he's not alone.
- They let you do it when you're famous dontchaknow? Or so I've heard.
You only offer such a one sided bad faith deal if you are truly an idiot or if the whole point is to make a show of them refusing the deal. Israel does this to Palestinians all the time for makreting purposes, as another example. The problem with trump is that we dont know if he is truly that stupid or if he has a separate malign intent in doing this. My money is on malign intent.
Give Ukraine back some nukes under their own control.
- they never had nukes, they were soviet nukes
  
  In between the end of the Soviet Union and them signing the Budapest Memorandum and giving the nukes from the ex-Soviet Union that were in their territory to Russia, there was definitelly a period during which the sovereign nation of Ukraine had nukes under their control.
  
  OK, but regardless of who supplies them, if Ukraine had a few under their own control, for better or worse it would give them a deterrent they never should have been swindled into letting go of. Sucks, but it seems any nation that doesn't have nukes is at an extreme disadvantage in defending its sovereignty.
  In fact, I think it would be worth it to put a few nukes in every NATO nation bordering Russia or its smaller, unprotected ex-satellites. Putin will grandstand about it but is he really going to start WWIII on it? If he was willing to do so, he already would have when other nations began sending conventional military aid to Ukraine. His bluff needs to be called and he needs to be forced to back down.
The agreement was performative. It was always meant to “prove” that Ukraine was not interested in peace, and a reason that Trump is the only one who can “negotiate” on Ukraines behalf.
- So, basically give up being raped by the Russians to being exploited by the Americans. What a good deal, great deal, maybe the best deal in the history of deals!
Standard imperial contract.
Sounds like the "Fart of the Deal"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npDqU47qZ7s
And zelenski just stood there with a silly grin on his face.
I mean, what are they supposed to offer? Ukraine needs to pay its debt.
The minerals are for all the money and weapon US had already gave Ukraine. The security guarantees costs extra.
- So go fuck out of all of security bases in Europe. Let's see how much longer you will survive and thrive without allies and generally hated by everyone.
  You think the rest of the world should simply succumb to your scummy practices?
- New USA colonialism:
  "Let us help you fight for your freedom!"
  3 years later...
  "Ekhmm.... remember the aid we sent? It wasn't to help you fight freedom after all. It was so now we can feel entitled to your resources."
  Check mate.
- Gave
  If english is not your first language you might want to check out the definition of that word.

80 comments