Trump Says He’s in Talks With Putin About US–Russia Economic Deal

(Left) U.S. President Donald Trump in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on Feb. 24, 2025; (Right) Russia's President Vladimir Putin gives a speech at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Feb. 23, 2025. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Alexander Kazakov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he’s had serious discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about both an economic development agreement between the United States and Russia and ending the war.

As Trump has worked to advance Russia–Ukraine peace talks in recent weeks, he has also sought better relations between Washington and Moscow more generally.

The United States has been Ukraine’s leading supporter throughout the war, providing military equipment and funding to Kyiv while imposing new economic sanctions on Russia.

While seeking to end the Russia–Ukraine conflict, Trump has also called for new deals with Kyiv and Moscow to benefit the United States economically.

“I am in serious discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia concerning the ending of the War, and also major Economic Development transactions which will take place between the United States and Russia. Talks are proceeding very well!” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social media account on Feb. 24.

Speaking with reporters at the White House on Feb. 24, Trump said an economic partnership with Russia could see the United States gain access to some of the country’s rare earth minerals.

The Trump administration is already engaged in separate talks with Ukraine, for a deal in which the United States could gain access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources as compensation for past and future support for Ukraine.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said his first focus is on reaching a peaceful settlement to the ongoing war.

He also expressed an interest in reaching an economic development deal with Russia of a kind similar to the one he’s pursuing with Ukraine.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, on Feb. 24, said an economic development deal between the United States and Ukraine is in its final stages.

In his comments to reporters on Monday, Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could visit the White House this week or next to sign the deal covering Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources.

Trump said he intends to meet with Putin in person in Russia sometime soon and offered no specific date for such a sit-down.

As for ending the ongoing war, Trump said a settlement may be possible within a matter of weeks.

“I think we could end it within weeks, if we’re smart,” he told reporters. “If we’re not smart, it‘ll keep going, and we’ll keep losing young, beautiful people that shouldn’t be dying, and we don’t want that.”

The apparent progress on the U.S.–Ukraine rare earth minerals deal comes after Trump and Zelenskyy butted heads in recent days.

Trump has called Zelenskyy a dictator and criticized Ukraine for not holding regular elections in war time. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, has shown frustration at the Trump administration’s efforts to engage with Moscow in new diplomatic talks, and has suggested that Trump is being swayed by Russian disinformation.

As the Trump administration and the Zelenskyy government signaled progress on a rare earth minerals deal, they continue to issue divergent messages about their goals for a final peace settlement in the ongoing war.

The United States and Ukraine presented competing resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, as the international body weighed action on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion.

Ukraine—joined by the UK and most members of the European Union—introduced a resolution calling for Russia to “completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

The U.S. delegation at the U.N. said past resolutions such as that presented by Ukraine have failed to end the war. Acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea instead urged the international body to support a U.S. resolution calling for peace, without demanding Russia’s full withdrawal from Ukraine’s pre-war territory.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted both Ukrainian and U.S. resolutions on Monday, but not before amending the U.S. resolution to include specific language affirming support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and ascribing the conflict to “the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.”

A third amendment affirmed the U.N. Charter and the “principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States.”