MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/. Investment and trade cooperation between Russia and the US, including on rare earths, will only be possible after relations are restored and a deal on Ukraine is agreed, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing.
"Heads of states have shown their political will for cooperation, for restoring dialogue which was brought to nearly zero by the previous administration," he said. "The next item on the agenda is the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis," Peskov added.
"And then <…> we can turn our attention to projects of trade-economic and investment interaction as well," he said. "And the opportunities in these areas are extensive," the spokesman noted.
"America needs rare earth metals. We have plenty of them. We have our own plans to develop strategic resources. This opens up significant prospects for collaboration, which President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] spoke about yesterday. The potential is there, the opportunities exist. When the time comes for political will to be exercised, we will be open to it," he stressed.
On Monday, the Russian president held a meeting on the development of the rare earths industry, after which he commented on issues of partnership with the US. Russia would be happy to work with any foreign partners in the rare earth metals industry, including the Americans, since it is a capital-intensive project, he noted.
US President Donald Trump is specifically interested in the development and extraction of rare earth metals, a key element in modern microelectronics and high technology.