Saturday 26 / April / 2025
New York: US President Donald Trump has once again promised that Moscow and Kyiv were "very close" to a US-sponsored deal, a goal that has thus far eluded his administration since his inauguration in January.
"A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to 'finish it off.'"
The US president added that most of the major points had been agreed on.
Following talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff earlier in Moscow, the Kremlin said the pair discussed the possibility of "direct" talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Vowing to help facilitate an end to the war, Trump also wrote: "Stop the bloodshed, NOW."
On Thursday, Trump issued a rare rebuke for Putin, calling on him to "STOP!" after Russian overnight strikes on Kyiv that killed 12 people and injured 87 others.
Trump demands Zelenskyy 'immediately' sign contentious minerals deal
US President Donald Trump on Friday posted a statement to his social media platform Truth Social hammering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not yet signing a controversial mineral deal with the US, claiming, "it is at least three weeks late."
Trump, who has been pressuring Ukraine to grant the US access to critical rare earths for having helped Kyiv defend itself against an ongoing Russian invasion, wrote, "Ukraine, headed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not signed the final papers on the very important rare earths deal with the United States."
The statement was posted as Trump traveled to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, which will take place on Saturday.
Although both Washington and Kyiv signed a memorandum of understanding last week for a final agreement to be signed on April 26, the deal has yet to be inked.
Trump has been trying to strong arm Zelenskyy into signing the deal as repayment for past assistance as well as claiming that Ukraine's best bet for future US security assistance would be to give the US access to the highly valuable raw materials, which are absolutely key to high-tech industries.
The White House has repeatedly claimed that a deal was imminent, despite Ukraine's reservations.
The most vivid illustration of just how touchy negotiations on the deal are came in late February when Zelenskyy was very publicly dressed down by Trump and US Vice President JD Vance during an Oval Office press conference that ended with Zelenskyy being ordered to leave for not acquiescing to US demands.
Trump: 'You're either going to make a deal, or we're out'
