US President Donald Trump has said that the United States will soon sign a minerals and natural resources agreement with Ukraine as talks with Russia and Ukraine on ending the war continue.
Trump told reporters at the White House on 20 March that his efforts to reach a peace agreement were going “pretty well” after his talks this week with the leaders of Russian Federation and Ukraine.
“We’re doing very well as far as Ukraine and Russia are concerned. And one of the things we’re doing is signing a rare earth element agreement with Ukraine very soon,” Trump said.
During his comments, Russian forces continued to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
This week, Trump held separate talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky aimed at reaching a ceasefire.
Those talks failed to secure a full 30-day ceasefire, but did result in Putin agreeing to halt Russian attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days. Zelensky said after talks with Trump that he would also agree to such a pause.
“We would like it (the war) to end, and I think we’re doing pretty well in that regard”, Trump said.
Earlier this month, Ukraine and the United States agreed to sign an agreement to develop Ukraine’s critical mineral resources. Attempts to sign the agreement failed on 28 February after an argument between Trump and Zelensky at the White House.
On 19 March, Trump and Zelensky agreed to work together to end Russia’s war on Ukraine during a phone call that the White House called “fantastic.”
It is not yet clear if the terms of the minerals agreement have changed. The previous version did not contain the security guarantees for Ukraine that Zelensky insisted on.