Minerals agreement: Trump officials wants to “get talks back on track” – CNN
Pravda Ukraine
CNN has reported that senior officials of US President Donald Trump held unofficial talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team after the confrontation in the Oval Office on Friday, 28 February to “get talks back on track”.
Source: CNN with reference to its sources
Details: CNN noted that Trump’s representatives had emphasised the importance of stabilising relations with the White House as soon as possible and urged the Ukrainians to resume talks before the president’s speech to Congress on Tuesday evening (Wednesday, 5 March Kyiv time).
CNN added that Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, was among those who contacted Zelenskyy.
As of Tuesday evening (local time), one White House official informed CNN that the agreement with Ukraine regarding rare earth minerals had not yet been signed.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent, who is directly involved in the discussions of the deal, stated that the signing was not planned before Trump’s speech, which is scheduled for around 21:00 EST (04:00, Kyiv time).
However, a White House official claimed that the Trump’s administration is confident that talks about reviving the mineral extraction agreement were “heading in the right direction”.
According to the official, Trump, who plans to talk about foreign wars during his speech, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, intends to announce the agreement on Ukrainian minerals.
Background:
- On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that Ukraine was ready to sign the agreement, calling the Oval Office spat regrettable.
- Reuters noted that it remains unclear whether the agreement has changed from the version initially set for signing on Friday.
- On Monday, US President Donald Trump reaffirmed that his administration remains open to finalising the deal.
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