MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Moscow and Washington could reach an agreement on rare earth metal mining in Alaska, Russian presidential envoy for relations with international organizations Boris Titov said in an interview with TASS.

"We have history in Alaska, so we know it well. We mined furs, timber, whale oil there, and so on. Still, of course, some things have changed over time. I think the topic on the agenda was joint mineral extraction, including rare earth metals. That's what was discussed, and it's been discussed. But for now, this remains a matter, again, dependent on politics. Although [US President Donald] Trump recently mentioned it again," he said.

"But until the key issue of lifting sanctions is resolved, such cooperation will likely not develop," Titov added.

On August 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is currently discussing the possibility of working together with the United States to obtain liquefied natural gas, not only in the Russian Arctic but also in Alaska.

Meeting on Alaska

The meeting between Putin and Trump took place on August 15 at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Alaska. The conversation lasted about three hours: one-on-one in the limo of the American leader on the way to the main meeting place and in a three-on-three format. Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also took part in the meeting from the Russian side, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff participated from the American side. In a press statement following the talks, Putin said that the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict had become the main topic of the summit. The Russian leader also called for a new chapter in bilateral relations and a return to cooperation, inviting Trump to Moscow. For his part, the US President acknowledged the progress made in the talks, but noted that the parties had not yet reached agreement on all issues.