On Monday, President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. should make a deal with Ukraine to access its rare earth materials in exchange for continuing American support in its war against Russia.

"We're looking to do a deal with Ukraine where they're going to secure what we're giving them with their rare earth and other things," Trump said in a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office, condemning the US for providing Ukraine with more economic and military aid than its European allies.  Trump mentioned that he has heard from the Ukrainian government that they are open to making a deal, allowing the US access to essential materials needed for modern high-tech industries.

“I want to have the security of rare earth,” Trump added. “We're putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earth. And I want security of the rare earth, and they're willing to do it.” Trump, who earlier promised to end the war quickly, said that discussions are still being held to resolve the conflict. “We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine," Trump said. "We'll see what happens. We're going to stop that ridiculous war.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Associated Press on Saturday that the U.S. and Russia should not hold talks about Ukraine without involving his country. “They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us it is dangerous for everyone,” Zelenskyy said. He stated that his staff has communicated with the Trump administration, but only on a broad scale, and he anticipates face-to-face talks to create more specific agreements in the near future. “We need to work more on this,” Zelenskyy said.