Lukashenko orders search for rare earth minerals in Belarus
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called on experts in his country to search for rare earth minerals, shortly after this set of elements shot to public prominence through a touted deal between the US and Ukraine.
Lukashenko instructed his Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Shuleiko to ensure that Belarus is no longer geologically underdeveloped, state-run media reported.
'It is the number one topic today,' the Belarusian president said, referring to rare earths, which are used in key 21st century industries such as renewable energy.
'There are not a lot of them in the earth. Perhaps we have them as much as the others,' he added.
Lukashenko also urged geologists to search for oil and gas. 'We have to dig and explore what deposits we have,' he said.
Rare earth minerals, which include titanium and lithium, are a set of 17 elements which are used in the manufacture of technologies such as mobile phones and electric cars.
Amid the economic rivalry between Washington and Beijing, US President Donald Trump is keen to reduce his country's dependence on China, which is the world's largest producer of rare earth elements.
In recent weeks, the new US president has tried to sign a rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine in exchange for continued American military aid.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington last week, with the expectation being that he would sign the minerals deal there.
However, a heated argument at the White House between Zelenskyy and Trump prevented that possibility.
The US government has now paused all military support to Ukraine in what it casts as an attempt to make Kyiv accept a peace deal with Russia.
Lukashenko, whose strongarm rule over Belarus has been going on for decades, is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies.
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