The Daily Populous Tuesday February 25th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by politico.eu and submitted by doopityWoop22

Speaking in a televised interview after convening a meeting on development of the rare earth metals industry on Monday, Putin said Ukraine’s potential critical minerals deal with the U.S. “does not concern us” — but claimed Moscow had more to offer Trump than Kyiv did.

“We would be ready to cooperate with our American partners ... if they showed interest in working together,” Putin said, adding that Russia has “an order of magnitude more resources of this kind than Ukraine.”

He name-checked mineral reserves in Russia's north, the Caucasus and the far east — as well as in Donbas, a Ukrainian region occupied by Russian forces.

“Regarding new territories,” Putin said, referring to parts of Ukraine that Russia has seized, “We are ready to attract foreign partners — and in our so-called new historical territories, which have returned to the Russian Federation, there are also certain reserves there. We are ready to work with our foreign partners, including the Americans, there.”

To sweeten the deal further, Putin said Russia would consider working with the U.S. to produce aluminum. He noted that if American companies work with Moscow, they will “make good money, and the corresponding volumes of aluminum will enter the domestic market at absolutely acceptable market prices.”

The Trump administration has vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible, while recently echoing the Kremlin’s narrative about Kyiv provoking Moscow into starting the conflict.

On Monday, the EU offered its own minerals deal to Ukraine, with European Commissioner for Industrial Strategy Stéphane Séjourné pointedly saying during a trip to Kyiv: “The added value Europe offers is that we will never demand a deal that’s not mutually beneficial.”

chrisni66 on February 25th, 2025 at 11:13 UTC »

If this happens, I fully expect the EU to sanction any companies trading in the resources stolen from Ukraine.

ProbablyBanksy on February 25th, 2025 at 11:02 UTC »

Tariffs on Canadian aluminum. Discount on stolen-Ukrainian aluminum. The art of the steal.

Deicide1031 on February 25th, 2025 at 10:36 UTC »

This article mentions Russia selling aluminum for example, yet the Americans are pitching tariffs on stuff like aluminum.

I can’t believe i might live to see exemptions on tariffs for Russia of all countries. It’s odd.