Trump Proposes Shock Nuclear Deal for Ukraine in Call with Zelensky
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Discussions aimed at achieving a truce Russia The conflict in Ukraine entered a new phase on Wednesday as Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky discussed U.S. 'ownership' of its nuclear plants.
The new element came in a joint statement issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz hours after Trump spoke by phone with the Ukrainian president.
The potential energy cooperation came up amid a stalled minerals deal that Trump says will provide security for Ukraine and allow it to reimburse the U.S. for billions spent arming and aiding the country.
'President Trump also discussed Ukraine’s electrical supply and nuclear power plants. He said that the United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise,' according to the statement.
'American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure and support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure,' it said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt got asked whether the U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal was still on the table.
'And now we have moved beyond the economic minerals deal. We are at a place of peace. We're at a partial ceasefire, and we're moving towards a full ceasefire and a long standing peace in this conflict,' she said.
Trump first mentioned that deal as a way to extract valuable rare earth minerals from Ukraine.
The Ukrainian side has begun raising the importance of the Zaporizhzhia power plant, now offline and controlled by Russia, as important to being able to power the energy-intensive efforts to mine the minerals.
The statement also mentioned the partial ceasefire that was a result of a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump said on Wednesday that he and Putin 'agreed to an immediate Ceasefire on all Energy and Infrastructure.'
However, the Rubio-Waltz statement did not include the term 'infrastructure.'
The two leaders concurred with implementing a limited truce concerning energy matters. In the upcoming days, technical delegations will convene in Saudi Arabia to explore expanding the truce to encompass the Black Sea as they work towards achieving an overall cease fire. This agreement was seen as the initial move toward completely ending the conflict and maintaining safety, according to the statement.
As per the Rubio-Waltz statement, 'President Trump inquired of President Zelensky regarding the Ukrainian children reported as missing due to the conflict, which included some cases of abduction. He assured collaboration between all sides to ensure these children could be brought back safely to their homes.'
That was an issue that Zelensky brought up during his prior unsuccessful meeting at the White House with Trump.
Leavitt was questioned regarding the end of a State Department contract that supported a Yale University initiative within their Humanitarian Research Lab. This project aimed to monitor children who had been kidnapped.
She mentioned that she didn’t have any new information regarding that.
Legislators expressed worries over the removal of a database that monitored satellite images and biometric information related to up to 35,000 Ukrainian children who had been displaced.
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