US President Donald Trump said the US minerals deal with Ukraine is still on the table and could be “a great deal” for America.
Speaking at an investment event alongside a representative from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Trump was asked whether the planned rare earth metals agreement with Ukraine was “already dead.”
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“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s a big deal for us,” Trump said. He promised to share more details in a speech scheduled for Tuesday.
He slammed the Biden administration for sending $350 billion to Ukraine, arguing that the money could have been used to rebuild the entire US Navy instead.
“Biden very foolishly gave $350 billion to Ukraine to fight, and you know what happened? We got nothing. We just gave it away,” Trump said. “We’re going to get all that back and more.”
He linked the minerals deal to the semiconductor industry, saying the US needs rare earth metals for chip production and other technology. “This deal helps us secure what we need for business, for chips, for semiconductors, and everything else.”
Asked what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky needs to do to restart talks, Trump said he should show more gratitude.
“He needs to be more appreciative. This country has stuck with Ukraine through thick and thin and given them much more than Europe, even though Europe is right there on their border,” Trump said.
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He criticized European nations for not matching US contributions and called Biden “clueless” for sending money without securing a loan deal, as European countries did.
“They’re getting their money back, and we just handed ours over. It’s time for us to be smart.”
Trump said the war must end quickly and pointed to the thousands of lives lost every week as the real cost of the conflict.
“I want all these young people to stop being killed. Every single week, thousands are dying—last week, 2,700 soldiers from Ukraine and Russia were killed. That’s not even counting civilians when missiles hit towns. I want it to stop,” he said.
While the minerals deal would give the US a stronger presence in Ukraine, Trump said peace remains the priority.
“The money is one thing. But the death - thousands of soldiers every week - is something else. It has to stop.”
These statements come days after a tense and public confrontation between Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, after which the US President cut the meeting short, stating that the Ukrainian leader is “not ready” for peace with Russia.
Zelensky was originally scheduled for a formal White House visit on Feb. 28 to finalize a US-Ukrainian agreement on jointly utilizing Ukraine’s mineral resources, a key component of a US-mediated post-war recovery plan.
However, the visit quickly turned confrontational in the Oval Office, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance angrily confronted Zelensky, accusing him of lacking gratitude for US support since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion three years ago.
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