I suspect that Witkoof “negotiates” nothing, that he repeats what foreign negotiators say to him, over the phone to Trump, and Trump gets back to him to tell him what to say next.
My Dad always said the U.S. will win the war and U.S politicians negotiations will lose the peace.
ARTICLE
How Ukraine’s 2.5-bn-year-old rock deposit became central to helping stop Russia: The minerals have become central to global politics. Munira Raji reports
Monday 21 April 2025 11:50 BST
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-minerals-deal-b2736681.html
“Ukraine’s minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them.
On 17 April, the Ukrainian officials announced they had signed an outline of a minerals deal with the US and said a final accord could be reached by the end of next week.
Ukrainian economy minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, took to X and shared photos of her and US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, signing the outline of the preliminary minerals deal separately.
WHAT ARE THESE MINERALS EXACTLY AND WHY ARE THEY SO SOUGHT AFTER?
Ukraine is often recognised for its vast agricultural lands and industrial heritage, but beneath its surface lies one of the world’s most remarkable geological formations, the “Ukrainian Shield”.
This massive, exposed crystalline rock formed over 2.5 billion years ago, stretches across much of Ukraine. It represents one of Earth’s oldest and most stable continental blocks.
The formation has undergone multiple episodes of mountain building, the formation and movement of magma and other change throughout time.”