In exchange for foreign military contingent: what can Ukraine offer Europe and the USA

In exchange for a foreign military contingent: what can Ukraine offer Europe and the USA Angela Figin

Ukraine is discussing the initiative to deploy a peacekeeping contingent with its partners. After all, the presence of foreign troops in the conflict zone will definitely cool the head of Vladimir Putin or his successors.

This opinion was expressed to Channel 24 by the executive director of the Economic Discussion Club Oleg Pendzin. He said that Ukraine can offer the United States and the European Union in exchange for the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent.

What might interest Trump

Ukraine has something to offer the Americans. At the same time, our country is interesting to Europeans, even from the point of view that they would like to make a cesspool for their own migrants on Ukrainian soil.

So to speak, the vestibule to the entrance to the European Union, but this is a question after the security issues are resolved. Therefore, I will not be surprised at all by the Europeans' decision to have military contingents here, Pendzin noted.

In addition, the fourth and fifth points of Volodymyr Zelensky's Victory Plan concern what Ukraine can offer. In particular, the fourth point speaks of joint mining of minerals on our territory by Ukrainian and American companies.

Today, Ukraine is rich in minerals from uranium to lithium. I'm not even talking about the best black soil in the world. American companies are already quite actively present here. There is not a single Ukrainian company in the top five largest grain traders from Ukraine, said the executive director of the Economic Discussion Club.

He recalled that Donald Trump, while still a candidate for President of the United States of America, expressed quite a lot of interest in this point.

What Ukraine can offer besides fossil fuels

The fifth point of the Victory Plan concerns the replacement of American troops with Ukrainian ones at US bases in the European Union.

Today, more than a million people have been mobilized in Ukraine. This is an extremely combat-ready and, in my opinion, the most professional army in Europe. I would even say that today American soldiers can hardly compete with Ukrainians in terms of professionalism and experience, except for some units that take an active part in hostilities, – Pendzin noted.

The main problem now is money, because the presence of American troops at US bases on the European continent is financed from the American budget. This is another point that greatly irritates Trump, which he has repeatedly spoken about.

What was proposed by Zelensky in the fifth point of the Victory Plan should be financed from the budget of the European Union, – added the executive director of the Economic Discussion Club.

Today, the share of defense spending in European countries averages 1.9% of the gross domestic product. At the same time, Americans spend about 3%. Trump set the task and clearly said that if Europeans do not spend up to 5% of GDP, then he is not going to protect Europe in case of any problems.