KYIV, Feb 4 - A senior Russian official slammed United States President Donald Trump's proposal that he could militarily aid Ukraine in exchange for access to its valuable mineral rights, POLITICO reported.

"If we call things as they are, this is a proposal to buy help — in other words, not to give it unconditionally, or for some other reasons, but specifically to provide it on a commercial basis," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday.

"It would be better of course for the assistance to not be provided at all, as that would contribute to the end of this conflict," he added, about a war that was instigated by Russia.

The critical comments from the Russian officials indicate positions of the U.S. and Russia are drifting apart and may not be able to find a common ground to ending the war in Ukraine quickly. Trump tends to double down if faced with opposition, which may suggest the U.S. is likely to step up support to Ukraine.

Trump announced Monday that he was “looking to do a deal with Ukraine” in which the U.S. would provide military aid for the war against Russian President Vladimir Putin in exchange for Ukraine’s "rare earths."

"We’re investing hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths, and I want security of the rare earths," he said in Washington, adding that Ukraine is "willing to do it."

Ukraine has strategic reserves of titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium, which is crucial for its future economic stability and potentially part of the calculus in balancing immediate aid with long-term sovereignty over its resources. Some of the critical minerals are in areas currently under occupation by Russia, which has been waging war on Ukraine since 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ukraine has not yet commented on Trump's proposal, but sharing resources with allies is part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s "victory plan" for the war against Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized Trump’s suggestion, calling it "very egotistic, very self-centered,” and argued that Ukraine would need its natural resources to finance postwar rebuilding. (po/ez)