The President of the United States Donald Trump announced his meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and once again spoke about the swift end of the war. This was reported by Kontrakty.UA.
TSN.ua compiled the main statements made by the American leader on February 24 during the G7 meeting and his discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Swift End to the War
Trump reiterated his belief that the war in Ukraine could be ended within a few weeks if "we are smart."
"If we are smart. If we are not smart, it will continue, and we will keep losing young, beautiful people who should not be dying, and we don’t want that," Trump stated.
The American president did not provide any further details.
Serious Negotiations
On the social network Truth Social, Trump mentioned that he is engaged in "serious negotiations" with Russian dictator Putin regarding ending the war in Ukraine.
"I am having serious negotiations with President of Russia Vladimir Putin about ending the war, as well as about major economic development deals between the US and Russia. The negotiations are going very well," wrote the White House leader.
Trump stated once again that "this war would never have started" if he had been president.
In his post, he referenced the call of G7 leaders on the third anniversary of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
"All participants of the G7 summit expressed a common goal – to see the end of the war, and I emphasized the importance of a deal between the US and Ukraine regarding minerals, which we hope to sign soon," said the US president.
Trump wants this agreement to "ensure that the American people get back tens of billions of dollars and military equipment provided to Ukraine."
"The agreement will also contribute to the growth of the Ukrainian economy as this brutal war comes to an end," he promised.
Later, the American leader stated at a joint briefing with French President Emmanuel Macron that he would visit Moscow if "everything gets sorted out," but not on May 9, as that would be "too soon."
The US Helps Ukraine More than Others
Donald Trump believes that his administration is helping Ukraine more than anyone before. This is how the US president commented on claims that Americans are withdrawing their support for Ukraine.
"We are helping Ukraine like no one has ever helped it," Trump said.
He also noted that if he had not come to power, "Ukraine would be at such a level now that there wouldn’t even be thoughts of peace."
"If I were president, this would never have happened, zero chances of this war," he added.
Trump emphasized that his task is to "get you out of the war, get them out of the war, give them a chance to live."
Trump and Zelensky Meeting
Donald Trump announced that next week (referring to the period from March 3 to March 9 – editor's note.) he plans to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky to sign an agreement regarding minerals.
According to him, the agreement is currently being worked on.
"We are working on the agreement. We are getting close to an arrangement where we get our money back after a certain period. But it also gives us something very good for their (Ukrainian – editor’s note.) economy, for them as a country. 350 billion dollars – how we got to that, I don’t know. But that is a lot of money, and we got nothing in return," Trump said at a joint briefing with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The Ukrainian side has not yet commented on this statement by the American leader.
Rare Earth Metals Agreement Does Not Provide Security Guarantees
According to the publication Axios, the document containing the agreement text worth hundreds of billions of dollars for the extraction of critically important minerals and rare earth elements does not include a clause about security guarantees for Ukraine.
The Donald Trump administration views this agreement as a way to offset US expenses for supporting Ukraine and gain access to its substantial mineral resources. In turn, the Ukrainian authorities hope to use this deal to stabilize relations with Washington and strengthen strategic partnership.
Trump, commenting on the upcoming agreement after the virtual G7 summit, stated that it would help "Americans get back tens of billions of dollars and military equipment provided to Ukraine," as well as contribute to the economic recovery of Ukraine "against the backdrop of the end of this brutal war."
According to the draft agreement, a "Reconstruction Investment Fund" is planned to be created, which will be jointly managed by the US and Ukraine. The document stipulates that the American side will undertake "long-term financial commitments" to develop a stable and economically successful Ukraine.
The fund is set to invest in projects on Ukrainian territory, including mineral extraction and the development of port infrastructure.
At the same time, the agreement stipulates that the US will receive compensation for part of the costs associated with "defending, restoring, and returning Ukraine" to its pre-war GDP level.
It is worth noting that political technologist Taras Zahorodny believes that Donald Trump is putting pressure on the Ukrainian leadership, but in Kyiv, they do not want to concede, hence a conflict is brewing between the countries.