Trump says US will sign Ukraine minerals deal soon

By Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom and Erin Banco

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States will sign a minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine shortly and that his efforts to achieve a peace deal for the country were going "pretty well" after his talks this week with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Trump made the comments at a White House event after signing an order to increase U.S. production of critical minerals. 

"We're doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia. And one of the things we are doing is signing a deal very shortly with respect to rare earths with Ukraine."

Trump referred to his separate discussions this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy aimed at ending Russia's war in Ukraine.

Those talks, which fell short of Trump's aim to secure a full 30-day ceasefire, resulted in Putin agreeing to stop Russian attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days and Zelenskiy saying he would also accept such a pause.

"We would love to see that (war) come to an end, and I think we're doing pretty well in that regard," Trump said.

"So hopefully we’d save thousands of people a week from dying. That's what it's all about. They're dying so unnecessarily, and I believe we'll get it done."

Ukraine and the U.S. said this month they had agreed to conclude as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine's critical mineral resources, which Trump sees as a means to pay back the United States for its assistance to Kyiv.

Efforts to seal the deal stumbled after a disastrous White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy at the end of last month.

Trump and Zelenskiy agreed on Wednesday to work together to end Russia's war with Ukraine, in what the White House described as a "fantastic" one-hour phone call, their first conversation since their Oval Office shouting match that resulted in a short-term cutoff in U.S. military aid and intelligence to Kyiv.

It was unclear if the deal has changed. An earlier version did not include the explicit security guarantees Ukraine has sought, but gave the U.S. access to revenues from Ukraine's natural resources.

It also envisaged the Ukrainian government contributing 50% of monetized amounts for state-owned natural resources to a U.S.-Ukraine managed reconstruction investment fund.

Asked how the current version of the minerals deal differs from the earlier draft, a senior U.S. official said it was "more detailed and comprehensive," declining to elaborate.  

Ukraine's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Brussels on Thursday, European Union leaders said they would continue to support Ukraine, but did not immediately endorse a call by Zelenskiy to approve a package of at least 5 billion euros for artillery purchases.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Don Durfee and Cynthia Osterman)