France discusses mineral extraction for defense industry with Ukraine since October - French Defense Minister
Photo: Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces of France (Getty Images)
Paris and Kyiv have been discussing the use of Ukrainian minerals for France's defense industry since October 2024, franceinfo reports citing Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces of France.
According to Lecornu, France has been working on the issue of minerals since last year, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "included the raw materials issue in his victory plan during his visit to Paris". He clarified that the Ukrainian leader made a number of proposals not only to the United States (USA) but also to France.
"Zelenskyy and his team saw that this raw materials issue could be one of the elements of negotiations with us to create resilience. So, President Trump (Donald Trump, the Head of the White House -ed.) didn’t come up with this entirely, as it was the Ukrainians who initiated it," the Minister noted.
Lecornu added that the minerals would be used for the production of military materials. France's defense industry requires a number of raw materials that will be crucial for the production of French weapon systems over the "next 30 or 40 years."
"Whether we like it or not, economic issues are always intertwined with military-strategic or security matters. In any case, this is especially true for energy," Lecornu emphasized.
Mineral agreement
As reported by Financial Times, Ukraine and the United States have already agreed on the details of the deal concerning rare earth metals. Commenting on the upcoming deal, Zelenskyy stated that it could either be a great success or quietly pass by.
Meanwhile, NBC News writes that Russia has offered the United States ownership rights to minerals located in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
To get more on the upcoming deal, read the RBC-Ukraine article on the topic.
