Trump's representatives held unofficial talks with Zelenskyy – CNN
Photo: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (GettyImages)
After the altercation in the Oval Office, representatives of US President Donald Trump conducted behind-the-scenes negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging the resumption of talks. The Trump administration is also hoping to announce a deal on rare earth minerals, CNN reports.
Senior Trump officials held behind-the-scenes talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team following the scandal in the Oval Office on Friday, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
The CNN sources noted that Trump’s representatives emphasized the importance of stabilizing relations with the White House as soon as possible and urged the Ukrainians to resume negotiations before the President's speech to Congress on Tuesday evening.
Among those who reached out to Zelenskyy was Trump’s Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, one of the sources reported.
As of Tuesday evening, one White House official told CNN that the rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine had not yet been signed.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, who is directly involved in the negotiations regarding the deal, told Fox News that there are currently no plans to sign it before Trump’s speech, which is scheduled for around 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
However, a White House representative stated that the Trump administration is confident that discussions on resuming the mining deal are moving in the right direction.
According to the official, the President, who plans to address the topic of wars abroad - particularly the war between Ukraine and Russia - wants to announce the successful completion of the mining deal in his speech.
Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
On February 28, during his official visit to Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Donald Trump at the White House. The discussions between the leaders became tense due to a dispute over the signing of a peace agreement and ending the war.
The conflict began after a statement by US Vice President JD Vance, who stressed that the only path to peace was diplomacy with Russia. In response, Zelenskyy accused Russia of violating previous agreements, which angered Trump.
The American President accused Zelenskyy of playing a “game with World War III.”
After the incident, US allies expressed their support for Zelenskyy, while Democrats in Congress criticized Trump.
