Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump complained that America had contributed more in military and economic assistance to Ukraine than its European partners.
“We’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth and other things,” he said.
Trump added that he had received word from the Ukrainian government indicating a willingness to negotiate for access to these critical materials.
“I want to have security of rare earth. We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do it,” he declared.
Trump, who has previously expressed a desire to swiftly end the conflict, noted that talks are ongoing to bring the war to a close. “We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine. We’ll see what happens. We’re going to stop that ridiculous war,” he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, warned that any negotiations between the United States and Russia that exclude Ukraine would be unacceptable.
“They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us — it is dangerous for everyone,” Zelenskyy told the Associated Press on Saturday, adding that while discussions with the Trump administration were underway at a general level, more detailed, in-person negotiations were expected soon.
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Source: Associated Press, IAR