[TrumpCard]

If you really intend to get something of value from extortion, demand immediate payment.  A long-term obligation that you extract through extortion is not likely to be performed for one reason or another.  

The U.S., knowing this to be true, would not seek speculative rights to mineral deposits from Ukraine unless the value that the U.S. hoped to obtain were tied more to the announcement of the deal than to the fulfillment of the deal's terms.

One might argue that the U.S. made this deal solely to claim credit for extracting something from Ukraine where no one else has been able to achieve that during the last 3 years.  I choose to look at the situation more optimistically for now.  The new U.S. administration has made a public announcement that it is betting on Ukraine to survive, and that's worth something even if the U.S. is betting with house money and even if Ukraine might not payout upon a successful outcome.

[TrumpCard]

If you really intend to get something of value from extortion, demand immediate payment.  A long-term obligation that you extract through extortion is not likely to be performed for one reason or another.  

The U.S., knowing this to be true, would not seek speculative rights to mineral deposits from Ukraine unless the value that the U.S. hoped to obtain were tied more to the announcement of the deal than to the fulfillment of the deal's terms.

One might argue that the U.S. made this deal solely to claim credit for extracting something from Ukraine where no one else has been able to achieve that during the last 3 years.  I choose to look at the situation more optimistically for now.  The new U.S. administration has made a public announcement that it is betting on Ukraine to survive, and that's worth something even if the U.S. is betting with house money and even if Ukraine might not payout upon a successful outcome.