PARIS: France is in discussions with Ukraine to access its mineral wealth, including for military use, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Thursday.
"We are discussing this question for France's needs," he told the Franceinfo broadcaster, a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is to meet US President Donald Trump to finalise a deal on US access to Ukraine's mineral wealth.
The French-Ukraine talks started in October and were led by both countries' defence ministries, Lecornu said.
Unlike Trump, France was not seeking any payback in the form of minerals from Ukraine for aid granted in support of Kyiv's war against Russia, he said.
"We're not looking to be reimbursed," Lecornu said. "But our defence industry will need a certain amount of raw materials that are absolutely key to our own weapons systems. Not next year, but in the coming 30 or 40 years."
France needed to "diversify" its sources for such commodities, he said, without identifying the minerals he hoped to obtain from Ukraine.
He said Zelensky himself had launched the idea "of including minerals in his plan for victory" last autumn, starting discussions "not just with the United States, but also with France."