US President Donald Trump wants to link the proposed US-Ukrainian agreement on mineral extraction with demands for Kyiv to quickly agree to a ceasefire with Moscow, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.
Washington has made it clear that Trump is ready to finalize the natural resources deal on the condition that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees to “the Ukrainian leader agrees to a tangible path for a truce and talks with Moscow, the people said.” These new additional conditions are why the agreement has not yet been signed, despite public statements from US and Ukrainian leadership expressing readiness to do so.
Movement on this deal could happen in the coming days. Ukrainian and US representatives may meet in Saudi Arabia, where Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit next week. Other sources emphasize that the US position could change, as Trump “often changes his mind.”
“The US has applied intense pressure on Zelenskyy in recent days by suspending all of its military aid and cutting off intelligence, a move European officials said was designed to persuade the Ukrainian premier to fall in line with Trump’s goals,” reads the report.
Such precedents are rare, and this move, according to current and former officials in the US and Europe, could harm transatlantic relations. This practice is generally viewed as outside of politics and not used “as a weapon.”
Parallel to the demands on Ukraine, US officials are holding negotiations with Russia. However, it is unclear whether pressure is being exerted on Moscow to bring it to the negotiating table.
European sources say Putin’s ultimate goal—the conquest of Ukraine—has not changed. They emphasize that the Russian ruler cannot be trusted. Some European officials fear that Trump’s desire for a quick ceasefire without security guarantees risks imposing a bad deal on Kyiv, undermining the security of the continent.
These same officials are skeptical that Putin would agree to the placement of Western peacekeepers in Ukraine. They argue that if Moscow maintains this stance in any negotiations, Trump will realize that Putin is unwilling to compromise.
The greatest fear in this scenario is that Trump will simply walk away, leaving behind a fragile ceasefire that is unlikely to hold.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, says that at the new meeting between the US and Ukraine in Saudi Arabia, the parties will attempt to agree on the framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire, according to Sky News.
According to him, the meeting with Ukraine is currently under development.
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