Ukraine touts anti-China privileges for Trump – FT

Beijing could be deprived of access to mineral riches if the US president-elect continues to fund Kiev in its conflict with Russia, sources have said

Ukraine is aiming to entice US President-elect Donald Trump into continuing to bankroll its war effort against Russia by selling this as a way of undermining China, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has included two particular points in his ‘victory plan’ for the conflict which are intended to appeal to Trump, the FT reported. Namely, these are a proposal to replace some of the American troops stationed in Europe with Ukrainians, and an offer of privileged access to Ukrainian mineral riches.

If Kiev loses the conflict, Russia and non-Western nations – including China – would benefit from Ukraine’s raw materials, Zelensky warned when he presented his proposal to the public last month. In late September, he met then-presidential candidate Trump to outline his plan.

The reference to Ukrainian national riches originates from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, according to FT sources. The US lawmaker stated in early September that Ukrainians “are sitting on a trillion dollars’ worth of minerals that could be good to our economy.”

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Separately, business elites close to the government are urging Kiev to offer Trump “investment screening” powers, according to the report. In practice, this would mean that “anybody but China” would receive access, one source said.

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Kiev started devising the proposal last summer, taking advice from Western backers, the newspaper reported. The potential deal currently includes the sacking of the Ukrainian ambassador in Washington, Oksana Markarova. She angered the Republicans by organizing Zelensky’s visit to a munitions plant in Pennsylvania in September, which many in the GOP perceived as campaigning for the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris.

Trump claimed on the campaign trail that he could end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if reelected. Russian officials have expressed support for his stated intentions, but said Trump would have to prove with his actions that he is serious about de-escalation.

Moscow perceives the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war against Russia. It intends to secure an outcome that addresses the core causes of the tensions, such as NATO’s expansion in Eastern Europe, and claims that no amount of aid funneled to Ukraine by the US and its allies would prevent it from reaching its goal.