Trump Signals U.S.-Ukraine Critical Minerals Deal Could Be Signed Next Week

(TJV NEWS) President Donald Trump announced Thursday that a long-awaited minerals agreement between the United States and Ukraine could be finalized as early as next week, marking a major step forward in securing American access to critical resources amid the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe.

“We have a minerals deal,” Trump stated during a meeting in the Oval Office with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “It’s going to be signed next Thursday — or very soon.”

The deal, which would allow the U.S. to tap into Ukraine’s reserves of essential minerals, was originally scheduled to be finalized during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington in February. However, talks were put on hold following what officials described as a tense exchange between the two leaders.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Thursday that discussions are ongoing regarding the logistics of the signing, with April 26 now being targeted. “It’s largely based on what had already been agreed,” Bessent said. “We had a memorandum of understanding, then we moved forward with a full agreement — it’s about 80 pages long, and that’s what will be signed.”

Earlier Thursday, Zelenskyy indicated that both sides could sign a memorandum of intent related to the deal by next week, expressing optimism that the U.S. would honor the agreement. “I assume they’re going to live up to the deal, so we’ll see,” Trump said. “But we have a deal on that.”

The minerals pact is expected to be a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to strengthen U.S. supply chains for strategic resources, especially as the war between Ukraine and Russia drags on.

Trump initially suspended aid to Ukraine in February, accusing Zelenskyy of showing a lack of commitment to a peaceful resolution during their Oval Office talks.

Momentum on the deal resumed last month when Trump issued an executive order to boost domestic production of critical minerals. He confirmed at that time that the agreement with Ukraine remained in motion.

On Thursday, when asked about a response timeline for Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding Trump’s ceasefire proposal, the president said, “We’ll be hearing from them very shortly. We’ll see. But we want it to stop. We want the death and the killing to stop.”

Trump has also taken recent action to protect U.S. interests in critical mineral supply chains, signing executive orders this week that could lead to tariffs on certain mineral imports — part of a larger effort to assert American economic power and reduce dependence on foreign resources.