It's a Done Deal
The US-Ukraine mineral deal is good for the civilized world
I mentioned on my radio show how good a sign it was -- and how grateful I was to Donald Trump for overcoming his clear personal dislike or frustration with Volodymyr Zelenskyy -- when those two presidents met while in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis. It seemed to me that that was extremely likely to mean the nations were close to cementing a so-called "minerals deal" and yesterday it was signed.
This should massively change the dynamic of America's involvement in trying to broker a peace deal because Trump is highly motivated by profit, obviously for himself, but also for the country and he'll see this as a significant revenue opportunity. But realizing the revenue requires being able to develop Ukraine's mineral resources which are mostly toward the eastern part of the country; some are reportedly in areas under control of Russia. This ends any hope that KGB thug Vladimir Putin has of convincing the US to go along with a deal that would let Russia keep much of eastern Ukraine, much less to take even more of it.
Indeed, Trump is suggesting that Americans may start working on initial stages of developing mines, searching for oil and gas, and other preliminary steps, and that an American presence should deter Russia from encroachment into those areas. It probably would, but I'm not sure what American engineer wants to be the tripwire.
To be clear, the deal does NOT include American security guarantees for Ukraine.
Still, this is great news for the civilized world.
What I wonder now is how MAGA followers of Trump who have for some reason found their own version of virtue signaling in moral equivalence between Russia and Ukraine or outright siding with Russia as Trump had done until now. Will these people switch to supporting Ukraine since Trump almost certainly must now that a deal is in place, and if so how will they explain it? Will it be as simple (and ridiculous) as "now there's money in it for the US"? I can't see how else they'd even try to justify such a massive change. But if it's good enough for Trump, it'll be good enough for them, I suppose.
US and Ukraine sign mineral resources agreement - ABC News
U.S., Ukraine Sign Minerals Deal in Major Breakthrough for Peace Talks | National Review
This is the imagery and language that we need. Better late than never.
https://x.com/Svyrydenko_Y/status/1917703459484127368
Brief commentary from Treasury Secretary Bessent: https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/1917697018551754802
I don’t support Russia over Ukraine…I just don’t think the US should be involved in this war. We don’t have to be the world’s policemen. Besides just about every time we do that it drags on forever and nothing really changes. Everyone seems worried about China owning ports and mines in South America, Africa, etc…they don’t do it militarily…they do it by making deals. And the deals China structures are not as good for a foreign country as the deals the US would structure. Having said that…I certainly hope this deal is made so that private companies control the mining, not the US or Ukranian governments.