U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants some of Ukraine¡¯s resources in return for continued aid ¡ª and the demand is, as his German counterpart Olaf Scholz quickly said, ¡°selfish.¡±
He might have added ¡°unseemly.¡± If the U.S. is to monetize its support for Kyiv¡¯s defense, after all, then why shouldn¡¯t the dozens of other countries that have been helping out? And if that happened, nothing would be left but a nation¡¯s bones.
Europe, however, should stop complaining, let Trump have his deal and avoid a divisive scramble for the assets Ukraine will need for its postwar reconstruction. That¡¯s especially true of Scholz¡¯s Germany. But let¡¯s start with what Trump got wrong before getting to why his demand is a price worth paying.
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