U.S. President Donald Trump is "very confident" that he will reach a deal to end Russia's war against Ukraine, possibly as early as "this week," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Feb. 22.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to negotiate a swift end to the full-scale war. Members of his administration held direct talks with Russian officials earlier this week and are currently working to secure a critical minerals deal with Ukraine.
"The president, his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict, and the president is very confident we can get it done this week," Leavitt said following the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 22.
U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz will be "working around the clock all weekend to get a deal and end this conflict with Ukraine," she said.
According to Leavitt, Trump is confident that Moscow is prepared to negotiate an agreement to end the war.
"He believes very strongly that Russia is willing to make a deal, he's fighting to make a deal," she said.
"The president said he wants the killing to stop, he wants to stop seeing innocent men die, and he wants peace."
Leavitt did not provide any additional details on the types of peace negotiations that would take place in the coming days. Trump previously announced that the U.S. and Russia would hold a second round of talks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 25.
Ukraine was not invited to participate in the Saudi Arabia discussions.
In his address at CPAC earlier in the day, Trump claimed that the U.S. and Ukraine were "pretty close" to a deal regarding Ukraine's critical natural resources. The two countries have been working intensively over the past few days to hammer out the details of a revised version of the agreement after President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected an initial proposal on the grounds that it did not offer concrete security guarantees.
Trump said at the conference that the deal would compensate the U.S. for the aid it sent Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion.
"I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up," he said. "We're asking for rare earth and oil — anything we can get."
Leavitt told reporters that the resource agreement was "very important" to Trump.
"When it comes to the critical minerals, this is an important piece for the president," she said.
"It's very important for the president, because it will recoup American tax dollars. And it also will be a great economic partnership between the United States of America and for the Ukrainian people as well, as they rebuild their country following this brutal war."
Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine have indicated that they believe an agreement will be reached soon, but a draft of the new proposal seen by the New York Times (NYT) provides no specific security guarantees for Kyiv in exchange for 50% of the revenues from Ukraine's natural resources.
Zelensky has objected to Ukraine's exclusion from the U.S.-Russia negotiations and dismissed any potential outcomes of talks that do not involve Kyiv's direct participation. Trump's overtures toward Russia — coupled with increasingly hostile rhetoric towards Zelensky and Ukraine — have alarmed Kyiv and leaders across Europe.
This week marks the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia launched the all-out war on Feb. 24, 2022.
Francis Farrell
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