In an interview broadcast on Monday, President Vladimir Putin said U.S. companies stood to profit in Russia, but suggested a Ukraine peace deal was still far off.
President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday said American companies could do lucrative business deals in Russia and even help mine rare earths in Russian-occupied Ukraine, further amplifying the Kremlin’s message to President Trump that there was money to be made from a better relationship with Moscow.
Mr. Putin, in an interview with Russian state television that was released late Monday, said that Russia had an “order of magnitude” more rare earth metals than Ukraine and that Moscow was “ready to work with our foreign partners, including the Americans,” in developing those deposits.
He said the invitation applied to Russian-occupied Ukraine as well, adding that American companies could also “make good money” by helping to develop aluminum production in Siberia.“There is something to think about here,” Mr. Putin said, referring to aluminum, “as well as about joint work on rare earth metals and in other areas, for example, energy.”
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