A horrific idea. Ukraine is utterly corrupt. DC is corrupt and in the middle of reform that -might- succeed. A mineral deal with Ukraine will do two things. It will permanently tie DC to the Ukrainian government forever. We will never be able to drop that tar baby.
Two, if you have a recovering drunk, the last thing you do is pair them up with a full blown alcoholic. A patent will ensure the reforms in DC fail and the corruption quickly returns.
This mineral deal is a sop to blackrock and nothing else.
Putin needs sanctions relief by Easter. He’s sold off half of Russia’s gold reserves to keep his economy afloat. This is all part of President Trump’s ceasefire negotiations. And setting the stage for peace deal and reconstruction.
Actually, the effort involved in owning mineral rights involves getting paid per ton by the mine operators and counting the trucks to keep them honest.
This could get interesting if oligarch-owned mining companies start having their leases terminated.