Hey everyone I’m confused about this mineral ‘deal’ that the US is trying to enforce on Ukraine. Why would Zelenskyy even contemplate a deal with the US with the current fascist administration? obviously he knows they are liars and cheats and won’t uphold any part of the agreement they don’t want to. surely he wouldn’t tie up his national minerals for generations so they can get the old US stockpiles of weapons? unless he’s just talking the talk with no intention of carrying through? if I had Zelenskyy ear I would advise against doing any deal with the US and just try to get Europe on board asap. I understand the issue of shutting down starlink would currently severely impact Ukraine, but I can also see how starlink won’t be necessary in the near future as drones switch to AI and fibre, and a bunch of tech we don’t know about yet… so what’s the deal with the ‘deal’? surely it’s not being entertained seriously? or is it all bluster for Trump to feel he’s achieving something whilst the real power brokers get EU assistance? would love thoughts Slava Ukraini!
I’m pretty sure that Zelenskyi or Ukrainians in general are not stupid. But they’re in the hard place right now and as USA support is still pretty big deal for them it’s necessary to keep the negotiations going. And also they most likely need and want outside capital on rebuilding, where mineral deal (or any other deal on resources) made with both parties interest in mind might make sense.
So, my best quess is that they’re actually looking for a deal which benefits both countiries equally, but they won’t sign off their wealth just for a vague promise. Also keeping the negotiations going, pampering Trump every now and then and in general showing of a good faith is all beneficial for them right now. They can agree on peace fire, they can agree on joint negotiations with anyone and then either declare that there’s “minor details” to iron out or (more commonly) show off to the world that they’re willing to find a solution while Russia just denies every proposal.
So, their current strategy might benefit Ukraine in the long run and even if it didn’t it still makes Russia look bad in comparison as they won’t never be as willing for actual negotiations. In my opinion that’s well spent time for few ambassadors right now.