The White House Said Trump Is in ‘Talks’ About Mineral Rights Deal with Ukraine

The minerals deal devolved after a heated Oval Office meeting last week, but now the U.S. and Ukraine are sounding a more optimistic note about getting it signed.

President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Zelenskyy

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the Trump administration is involved in “talks” to negotiate a mineral rights deal with Ukraine.

The critical minerals deal, which was expected to be signed when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington last week, fell apart after an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump devolved into a heated argument. In his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump said he received a letter from Zelenskyy saying he was prepared to return to the negotiating table.

“The president is committed to a peace deal. He wants to see this war end. And I think that President Zelenskyy’s message … is a positive sign in the right direction,” Leavitt said.