MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Economic interests will push Washington to acknowledge Russia’s new regions, said Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the Other Ukraine movement and former head of the Opposition Platform – For Life party (banned in Ukraine).
"They (the Americans - TASS) will benefit more from dealing with a stable Russia than with a desperate beggar," he wrote in his column on Smotrim.ru. "Therefore, recognizing the new Russian regions is an economically motivated issue - the United States has already realized that, and Europe will soon do so, too. And there will be much more land, as the process of regaining historic Russian lands has just begun and will actively continue," he added.
Medvedchuk warned that Ukrainian resources that Washington would own as a result of a resource deal will yield profits only if the new owners cooperate with Russia. He questioned Ukraine’s economic role globally under Vladimir Zelensky. "It [Ukraine] has been hindering cooperation, being quite a futile state," he said.
Meanwhile, the politician stressed, Ukraine has already lost a substantial share of the natural resources that it is preparing to cede to the Americans. "Russia controls 63% of Ukrainian coal mines, as well as 11% of oil and 20% of natural gas deposits. Besides, there are 42% of metal fields and 33% of rare earths and other important materials, including lithium, on Russia-controlled areas," he added.
The resource deal, which was agreed by Ukraine, consists of 11 points. It contains plans to create an investment fund to rebuild the country, but does not specify some details about its activities — how the fund will be managed, what the powers of the US representatives will have, or the ownership structure.
The document will cover "deposits of minerals, hydrocarbons, oil, gas and other extracted materials, infrastructure, ports, and state-owned enterprises."
The document only has one phrase that the United States will help Ukraine obtain security guarantees. Zelensky noted that this is not what Ukraine wanted. The document is expected to be signed on February 28.