Moscow has proposed a potential agreement to the United States under which the U.S. would receive partial ownership rights to rare earth minerals and other valuable metals in the russian-occupied territories of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. This was reported by NBC News, citing American officials.
According to them, the proposal was presented on February 18 during a meeting between russia and the U.S. in Saudi Arabia.
NBC News notes that the Trump administration did not commit to signing a U.S.-russia agreement on rare earth minerals but did not rule out the possibility, according to U.S. officials and a source informed about the proposal.
"Russia offered U.S. officials a new economic partnership that includes territory Moscow seized during its invasion of Ukraine in 2022", - the outlet emphasizes.
According to the publication, this would effectively guarantee that russia retains part of the Ukrainian territory it has occupied and hopes to keep as part of a peace agreement.
As previously reported, Lavrov officially confirmed that russia is inviting the U.S. to invest in the occupied territories of Ukraine.