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Russia accuses US of seeking control over Central Asia's rare earth deposits

Russian diplomat Alexander Sternik claims the US is offering Central Asian states model agreements to gain control over rare earth deposits and transport corridors. Moscow, meanwhile, touts equal partnership in the sector amid a 'global rare earth fever'.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 1 distinct · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage May 12, 2026 Published Aug 13

Lead

A senior Russian diplomat has accused the United States of attempting to secure control over rare earth deposits and transport corridors in Central Asia, while positioning Moscow as a cooperative alternative in the strategically important sector.

Alexander Sternik, director of the Third CIS Department at Russia's Foreign Ministry, made the remarks on May 12 at the sixth Central Asian Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Gelendzhik, as reported by TASS, Russia's state news agency.

Coverage Comparison

All reporting on this story comes from TASS, which carried Sternik's remarks across three separate articles. The coverage emphasizes Russia's readiness to cooperate with Central Asian states in rare earth metals, its possession of a full range of such metals, and its offer of equal partnership conditions. The articles also highlight Moscow's framing of the United States as seeking control over regional resources.

No non-Russian outlets were included in the provided material, so the claims rest solely on Sternik's statements as relayed by TASS.

Key Claims

US seeks control over Central Asian deposits and corridors. Sternik stated that the United States is offering Central Asian states "model agreements" with the goal of "gaining control over the deposits of these strategic resources and the transport corridors that they are moved on," according to TASS. He added that "many of the United States' associates are doing essentially the same thing."

Central Asia at center of 'global rare earth fever.' Sternik described a "global rare earth fever," saying Central Asia has "found itself in the vortex of this hype." Citing data from American geological services, he claimed that "380 or even more rare earth occurrences have been discovered in Central Asia."

Western demand tied to militarization. The diplomat asserted that "the main buyers of rare earths are enterprises of the military-industrial complex" and linked the resources to "large-scale plans for the militarization of the Western economy." He said rare earth metals are used in advanced weapons and military equipment, laser systems, and navigation systems.

Russia offers equal partnership. Sternik said Russia offers "equal partnership conditions" in the rare earth sector, including personnel training, joint production processes, and research. Despite Russia possessing the full range of rare earth metals, Moscow is "ready to develop cooperation within the territories of Central Asian states," he was quoted as saying.

Potential collaboration with China. The diplomat noted prospects for cooperation with China, saying Central Asia's mineral resources "can be more easily linked through shared infrastructure with production capacities both in Russia and in China, combined with China's most advanced extraction and processing technologies and, of course, financial resources."

Perspectives

Russian official view

Sternik's statements cast Russia as a reliable partner offering equal terms, while portraying US and Western engagement as an attempt to gain control for militarization purposes. He stressed Russia's own capabilities and historical ties with Central Asian mining infrastructure, which he said was "largely inherited from Soviet times."

Potential US perspective (not represented in provided sources)

No US or Western source materials were available. The claims about US intentions rely solely on Russian diplomatic statements and remain unverified by independent reporting.

Central Asian perspective (not represented in provided sources)

The views of Central Asian governments were not included in the provided material. Their response to both US and Russian overtures in the rare earth sector has not been independently covered in this set of sources.

How this outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC

Framing: Our reading Russia's cooperation with Central Asia in rare earth metals — Neutral

Facts Included:

Russia is ready to cooperate with Central Asian states in the rare earth metals sector
Russia possesses a full range of rare earth metals
Russia offers equal partnership conditions, including personnel training, joint production processes, and research
Central Asia's mineral resources can be linked with production capacities in Russia and China

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC

Framing: Our reading Central Asia's role in the global rare earth market — Critical of the West

Facts Included:

Central Asia is at the center of a 'global rare earth fever'
The West needs rare earth metals for militarization
Russia offers equal partnership conditions in the rare earth sector
Rare earth metals are used in advanced weapons and military equipment

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 1:46 PM UTC

Framing: Our reading The US's attempts to control rare earth deposits in Central Asia — Critical of the US

Facts Included:

The US and its associates are trying to gain control over rare earth deposits and transport corridors in Central Asia
The US is offering model agreements to Central Asian states to achieve this goal

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimRussia possesses a full range of rare earth metals and is ready to cooperate with Central Asian states in the rare earth metals sector.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC
ClaimRussia offers equal partnership conditions, including personnel training, joint production processes, and research, in the rare earth sector.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC
ClaimCentral Asia's mineral resources can be linked with production capacities in Russia and China.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC
ClaimCentral Asia is at the center of a 'global rare earth fever'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC
ClaimThe West needs rare earth metals for militarization.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC
ClaimRare earth metals are used in advanced weapons and military equipment.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 9:16 AM UTC
ClaimThe US and its associates are trying to gain control over rare earth deposits and transport corridors in Central Asia.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 1:46 PM UTC
ClaimThe US is offering model agreements to Central Asian states to gain control over rare earth deposits and transport corridors.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 12, 2026, 1:46 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 1 distinct · 3 articles consulted: TASS — English 8 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-13