The United States is in preliminary talks with the Democratic Republic of Congo to conclude an agreement on access to critical minerals. The United States wants to conclude a similar agreement with Ukraine.
The Financial Times (FT) writes about this.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has vast reserves of copper, cobalt and uranium. Last month, the country approached the United States with a proposal to strike a deal — minerals in exchange for support for the government of President Felix Tshisekedi.
Local officials want to strengthen support for Tshisekedi. The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently in turmoil — rebels supported by neighboring Rwanda have seized significant areas rich in minerals and the two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu.
The talks have become more serious in recent days, although several obstacles remain. For now, these negotiations are at an early stage.
“The DR Congo is home to a significant portion of the world’s reserves of critical minerals needed for advanced technologies. The United States is open to discussing partnerships in this sector,” a US State Department spokesperson said in a comment to the Financial Times.
They added that the partnership with American companies would strengthen the economies of both the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although the terms of the deal have not yet been agreed, it underscores the United States’ interest in gaining access to resources around the world. At the same time, greater US involvement in the Democratic Republic of Congo would counterbalance the influence of China and Chinese companies, which control most of the country’s major mining operations.
Minerals Agreement between Ukraine and the United States
The draft agreement was first brought to Ukraine by the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on February 12. Washington hoped that Kyiv would sign it immediately. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had banned signing the agreement because it would not be able to protect Ukraineʼs interests — there is no connection with investments, profits, and security guarantees.
Previously, the US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine had "essentially agreed" to transfer half a trillion dollars worth of rare earth metals to Washington as payment for US military aid.
After Trump and Zelensky’s February 28 White House row, U.S. officials continued to talk to the Ukrainian side about the deal. They urged Zelensky’s advisers to force the Ukrainian president to publicly apologize to Trump.
On the evening of March 4, Zelensky said that the meeting with Trump “did not go as planned” and that this must be corrected. Ukraine, according to Zelensky, is ready to sign an agreement on the use of Ukrainian minerals “at any time and in any convenient format”. He considers this a step towards strengthening security and reliable security guarantees.
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