Days after verbal spat with Zelensky, Donald Trump says mineral deal with Ukraine to be signed ‘very shortly’
Donald Trump also declared that he had signed an executive order to boost the production of critical minerals in the US.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that he would be ‘very shortly’ signing a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine that would give the US a partial share of the profits from future resource extraction.
This month, Ukraine and the US announced they would swiftly finalise a comprehensive agreement to develop Ukraine's critical mineral resources, which Donald Trump views as a way for Ukraine to repay the US for its support, according to a Reuters report.
During an event at the White House, Donald Trump said, “We're doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia, and one of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earth with Ukraine. They have tremendous value in rare earth minerals. We appreciate that."
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Donald Trump also declared that he had signed an executive order to boost the production of critical minerals in the US. Trump said he signed an executive order to dramatically increase production of critical minerals and rare earths, calling it a “big thing in this country”.
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Trump-Zelensky White House verbal spat
A rare earth minerals deal has been on the cards ever since Donald Trump took office, however, talks fell apart last month after a dramatic verbal spat between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting at the Oval Office.
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On Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt had stated that the US had “moved beyond just the economic minerals deal framework,” and were now looking towards a long-term peace agreement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Donald Trump addressed the conflict, and stated that his recent calls with Putin and Zelensky had been productive and would hopefully progress towards ending the ongoing conflict.
"We spoke yesterday with President Putin and President Zelenskyy, and we would love to see this come to an end. I think we're doing pretty well in that regard. Hopefully, we can save thousands of people a week from dying. They're dying so unnecessarily, and I believe we'll get it done. We'll see what happens, but I believe we'll get it done," he said.
