President Donald Trump on Friday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to immediately sign a mineral deal with the United States as negotiations to end the Ukraine-Russia war continue.
Trump took to Truth Social to nudge Zelensky toward signing the deal while en route to Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, which is set for Saturday morning. The second version of the deal was proposed in late March after Zelensky’s Oval Office outburst foiled an initial anticipated agreement in February.
“Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important Rare Earths Deal with the United States. It is at least three weeks late. Hopefully, it will be signed IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post from Air Force One.
“Work on the overall Peace Deal between Russia and Ukraine is going smoothly. SUCCESS seems to be in the future!” he added.
Zelensky will also attend Pope Francis’s funeral. Trump said before his departure Friday morning that he would be meeting with many world leaders in Rome.
“We’re going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders. They want to meet,” Trump said. “Trade deals are going very well. I think Russia and Ukraine, I think they’re coming along, we hope, very fragile. And Iran, I think, is going very well. We’ll see what happens.”
It is unclear if he intends to meet with Zelensky. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff notably met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday.
Peace talks faced multiple obstacles this week, prompting the president to criticize both Putin and Zelensky. After Russia carried out missile strikes on Kyiv on Thursday, which the Associated Press reported killed a dozen and left some 90 injured, Trump ripped Russia in a Truth Social post.
“I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Zelensky said at a press conference that Ukraine would “not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea.”
Trump called the statement “very harmful” to peace negotiations.
“The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that! We are very close to a Deal, but the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE,” Trump wrote in part in a Truth Social post.
On Thursday, Trump appeared to cast doubt on the prospect of Ukraine gaining control of Crimea, emphasizing it was lost during the Obama years.
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