Trump says he is talking to Putin about ‘economic development’ deal

The President’s announcement came as Washington failed in an attempt to kill a Ukrainian UN resolution blaming Russia for the war.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AFP

President Trump said he was in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about an economic-development deal, the latest signal of thawing of relations between the two countries, while the U.S. suffered a diplomatic rebuke at the United Nations over an effort to mark the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“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, ” Trump wrote Monday on social media.

“Talks are proceeding very well!”

In the aftermath of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has sought to isolate Moscow through sanctions and other measures. An economic deal with Moscow would mark a significant reversal of that policy. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s plans.

Earlier on Monday, Washington failed in an attempt to kill a Ukrainian resolution blaming Russia for the war, with the U.N. General Assembly, which represents all 193 U.N. member states, approving the resolution.

The U.S. ended up abstaining on its own competing resolution after the brief text — which focused purely on calls to end the conflict — was amended by the Europeans to clearly support Ukraine.

A separate vote on the American resolution, which the U.S. appeared ready to push through regardless of European opposition, was expected later Monday at the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. needs nine out of 15 Security Council votes for its resolution to pass. France and the United Kingdom, which supported Ukraine’s resolution at the General Assembly, have veto powers to block the U.S. text.

Trump, speaking to reporters Monday in the Oval Office, said the economic discussions with Russia were in their early stages. “They have very valuable things that we could use, and we have things that they could use,” he said. But he acknowledged that it might not “come to fruition.”

Russia, like Ukraine, has large deposits of rare-earth elements. Trump suggested that a deal with Russia could be similar to one he was trying to craft with Ukraine in which he wants the U.S. to have access to that country’s natural resources.

Trump said the U.S. is “getting very close” to striking a minerals deal with Ukraine. He said he hoped to meet n the coming weeks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House to sign the deal.

Trump, in his Monday afternoon Truth Social post, also noted he was talking with Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump’s social-media post came as he met at the White House with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Earlier, in a videoconference with G-7 leaders including Trump, Zelensky said that “for our people, for life overall it’s incredibly important that American help and support remain.”

It was the first public statement Zelensky has made to Trump since tensions erupted between the two leaders over the potential deal to exchange Ukraine’s minerals for U.S. aid.

Zelensky said his team was “productively working with the United State on the economic agreement that we hope to sign in Washington.”

Leaders from Europe and Canada gathered Monday in Kyiv in an intended show of unity as the full-scale Russian invasion enters its fourth year, announcing additional military support for Ukraine and new sanctions against Moscow.

Dow Jones