France has been discussing mining with Ukraine since October

Sébastien Lecornu Photo: Routers

France and Ukraine have been discussing the use of Ukrainian minerals for the French defence industry since October 2024.

This was stated by the head of the French Ministry of Defence, Sébastien Lecornu, franceinfo reports.

It is noted that France has been working on the issue of minerals since last year, when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a visit to Paris, «included the issue of raw materials in his victory plan». He specified that the Ukrainian leader made a number of proposals not only to the United States of America (USA), but also to France.

Advertising

«Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team saw that this issue of raw materials could be one of the elements of a transaction with us to create a steady hand. So, President Trump, he didn't completely invent this, because the Ukrainians themselves did it», explained Sébastien Lecornu.

The head of the French Ministry of Defence added that the minerals will be used to produce military materials. The French defence industry needs a number of raw materials that will be key to the production of French weapons systems over the next 30 or 40 years.

«Whether we like it or not, economic issues are always intertwined with military, strategic or security issues. In any case, this is especially true of energy», he added.

Earlier, Donald Trump said that he would like to conclude a deal under which Ukraine would supply the US with rare earth minerals needed for electronics production in exchange for US aid.

A deal on minerals between Ukraine and the US

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticised Donald Trump's proposal to provide Ukraine with military assistance in exchange for its minerals.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said that Ukraine had agreed to provide Washington with access to rare earth minerals worth $500 billion.

It should be noted, however, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to sign the agreement on granting the US access to rare earth minerals. The White House called this decision «short-sighted».

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the US might consider investing in mining on the Black Sea shelf, which is currently under Russian occupation.

However, Donald Trump later stated that he intended to renew the agreement with Ukraine on rare earth minerals.

US National Security Advisor Mike Volz called on Kyiv «to tone it down» and sign the mining agreement, which had been previously rejected by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Then, the administration of US President Donald Trump sent Ukraine an updated version of the mining agreement, which took into account some of Kyiv's comments.

Later, the Office of the President of Ukraine reported that the document still contains clauses that raise certain questions, particularly in the context of security guarantees.

Subsequently, US President Donald Trump said he would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign the minerals agreement this week or next week.

The European Union has also offered Ukrainian officials an alternative agreement on access to Ukraine's mineral resources as Kyiv negotiates a similar cooperation with the United States.