Echoes of the Erdoğan-Trump meeting continue: Allegations of a 'rare earth elements' bargain based on US records! Trump is after 2 elements

CHP Deputy Chairman responsible for the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Deniz Yavuzyılmaz, shared new allegations regarding the behind-the-scenes of the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former US President Donald Trump in a statement on his social media account.

Yavuzyılmaz drew attention to the minutes of the hearing titled "Bridging the Gap, Turkey Between East and West," held on March 5, 2025, by the Europe Subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs. According to the CHP member's claim, the Trump administration had made a "plan to bring Ankara to the table" during the session in question, evaluating Turkey's 694 million tons of rare earth element reserves as a strategic target.

Yavuzyılmaz included the following statements in his post:

"We have determined in which kitchen and how the issue of Rare Earth Elements, which President Erdoğan put in his bag and took to Trump's bargaining table, was cooked by the US administration."

"IF THE US DOES NOT DO IT, CHINA WILL FILL THE GAP"

According to the minutes cited by Yavuzyılmaz, assessments made on the US side expressed concern that an agreement with Turkey would have "strategic importance," and that otherwise, the gap in this field would be filled by China.

The minutes emphasized that China controls 92 percent of the world's processed critical minerals, and included statements suggesting that the US should initiate potential cooperation with Turkey before its competitors.

Yavuzyılmaz pointed to the meeting President Erdoğan held with Donald Trump on September 25, 2025, just seven months after this meeting, and stated, "As planned in that meeting, Erdoğan is being brought to the table. Trump gets what he wants from that table and leaves."

NO OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON RARE EARTH ELEMENTS IN THE MEETING

The meeting between President Erdoğan and Trump on September 25, 2025, received extensive coverage in the international press. However, no agreement regarding rare earth elements was mentioned in the official statements made by the two countries; only a memorandum of understanding on "strategic civil nuclear cooperation" was announced after the meeting.

US Congressional records also confirm that the hearing titled "Bridging the Gap, Turkey Between East and West" was held on March 5, 2025, and that Turkey's role in NATO, its geostrategic importance, and its rare earth reserves were brought to the agenda during the session.

YAVUZYILMAZ: "THE PLAN WAS LAID 7 MONTHS AGO"

According to the information shared by CHP's Deniz Yavuzyılmaz, it is stated that Turkey's underground resources were discussed under the heading of "strategic competition" at the session in the US House of Representatives, and that Washington had planned this process months in advance.

Yavuzyılmaz claimed, "The Erdoğan-Trump meeting took place as the result of a strategy planned by the US administration in its own official records."