NBC News: Russia offers US partial control over resources of occupied territories of Ukraine

Russia has offered the Administration of the US President Donald Trump a potential deal under which Washington would receive ownership of the natural resources of occupied Ukrainian regions.

This is reported by NBC News, citing its own sources.

According to the US officials, senior Putin representatives presented the idea at a meeting in Saudi Arabia on February 18. The options allegedly included scenarios in which the US would gain access to minerals in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, which Russia declared annexed in 2022.

The Trump administration has reportedly not committed to a US-Russian agreement, but it has not ruled it out either.

"Trump is inclined to make deals, so Putin, understanding this, made this countermove," says the former American diplomat.

He added that the Russians "clearly see" both the American leaderʼs interest in Ukrainian natural resources and Volodymyr Zelenskyʼs indecision on this issue.

Agreement on Ukrainian Mineral Resources

The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought a pilot draft of a minerals agreement to Ukraine on February 12. Washington had hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. President Zelensky said that he had banned the agreement because it would not protect Ukraine’s interests — it had no connection to investments, profits, or security guarantees.

Previously, Trump stated that Ukraine had "essentially agreed" to transfer half a trillion dollars worth of rare earth metals to Washington as payment for American military aid.

Ukraine said it was ready to sign an agreement on rare earth metals, but Kyiv needed security guarantees. Zelensky added: “The document was clear in only one thing — we must give 50% of everything that is listed there.”

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