President Donald Trump told European leaders and the Ukrainian president that the US is ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, only if these efforts are not within NATO, reported Politico, citing three sources. However, Trump did not specify what he means by security guarantees and only discussed a broader concept
Throughout most of his presidency, Trump opposed providing lethal military aid to Ukraine. Although the US does not send weapons directly, he recently allowed Europe to purchase American weapons for shipment to Ukraine — a move that, according to his administration, increased pressure on Moscow and convinced Putin to come to the negotiating table.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph claims that on August 15, at a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump plans to offer a range of economic incentives to conclude a deal, specifically access to Alaska's natural resources and partial lifting of sanctions on the Russian aviation industry in exchange for ending the war against Ukraine. Additionally, the US is ready to offer Russia access to rare earth metals in the occupied territories of Ukraine. As the publication writes, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is involved in the negotiations. It is believed that Ukraine possesses 10% of the world's lithium reserves, which are used for battery production. Two of the largest lithium deposits are in areas controlled by Russia, and Putin has already claimed the valuable minerals being extracted there.
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