Zelensky says he's open to Trump's rare earth request: 'Let's do a deal'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signaled a willingness Friday to work with President Trump to supply the U.S. with rare earth elements in exchange for continued military aid in his war against Russia.

In an interview with Reuters, Zelensky said: "If we are talking about a deal, then let's do a deal, we are only for it."

He emphasized that Ukraine is not "giving away" its resources but is offering the U.S. a partnership. 

"The Americans helped the most, and therefore the Americans should earn the most. And they should have this priority, and they will. I would also like to talk about this with President Trump,” he told Reuters.

Zelensky also said that Ukraine and the U.S. are discussing using Ukraine’s underground storage for U.S.-produced gas. 

His comments come after Trump said earlier this week the U.S. should receive “rare earth” elements from Ukraine in exchange for military assistance.

“We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine, where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” Trump told reporters Monday. 

“I want to have security of rare earth,” he added.

Rare earth elements are a group of materials that are deposited in relatively small quantities around the globe, making the economics of mining them complex. They are used in magnets and batteries, which in turn are used in sectors including health care, power generation, transportation and consumer electronics. 

Zelensky’s openness to the deal is not necessarily a surprise, as Ukraine’s existing “Victory Plan” states that the country would work to supply its strategic partners with “natural resources and critical metals worth trillions of U.S. dollars” including uranium, titanium, lithium and graphite.

These metals are not considered rare earths, and it’s not clear whether they, too, would be part of any deal between the two nations. 

Zelensky shared a map of Ukraine’s minerals with Reuters, and according to the news outlet, about half of a strip of land containing rare earths appeared to be on Russia’s side of the current battle lines.

The Ukrainian president also said he hopes to meet with Trump before the U.S. sits down with Russian President Vladimir Putin because "otherwise it will look like a dialogue about Ukraine without Ukraine."