Just shy of two weeks ago, President Trump spoke with assurance during a media event in the Oval Office with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were in a good place, and that U.S./Ukraine minerals deal could be signed shortly. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent piped up later on Apr. 17 that the timeline was looking closer to the 26th.
The images of the two leaders’ last meeting in D.C., with Zelensky causing a commotion over the president’s and Vice President JD Vance’s responses to his strident statements during their sit-down, then departing from the White House without signing the deal, are fresh in many Americans’ minds. It didn’t help things, as my colleague Jennifer Van Laar wrote, when the leader of Ukraine tweeted out his opinion on when the war with Russia would stop.
Trump was not amused, to say the least, Van Laar noted:
Trump also addressed Zelensky’s comments reported in the Associated Press that the end of the war in Ukraine is “very, very far away,” saying, “He better not be right about that.”
RELATED: What Can Zelensky Do to Restart Negotiations? Trump Has an Answer
Things are moving in the right direction, and on the upswing, though. On Sunday, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz gave something of an update on both the rare minerals deal the White House hopes to hammer out with Zelensky, and the ending of the Russia-Ukraine war, during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
.@MikeWaltz47: “The Ukraine [rare earth elements] deal is going to get done.” pic.twitter.com/FJBhgXQH2d
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 27, 2025
“Negotiators were working hard over the weekend, Waltz told host Maria Bartiromo,” adding that “that is first and foremost on both Secretary Bessent’s and the president’s mind. It’s going to get done, Maria.”
That rare earth minerals deal wasn’t the only thing on the former Florida congressman’s mind, though, when he brought up what he described as the “iconic” images of Pres. Trump and Zelensky at the Vatican this weekend, saying “it’s going to go down in the history books”:
.@MikeWaltz47: “Just 100 days ago, Biden and his team had no end in sight … President Trump is determined to use diplomacy to bring this war to an end.” pic.twitter.com/q1qo0DSP0t
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 27, 2025
He called it “truly special” to witness, along with other world leaders looking on at Trump’s leadership.
“The thing [Trump] was determined to do was to talk to Zelensky face to face, and talk about how we’re going to get the largest land war in Europe to an end. Both sides have to want that,” Waltz said.
A powerful photo of Zelensky and Trump meeting at the Vatican. pic.twitter.com/UYSG7HoU2K
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 26, 2025
READ: Powerful Photo of Meeting Between Trump and Zelensky, and the Latest Word on Deal
Waltz also elaborated on one of the administration’s biggest frustrations while untangling the Russia-Ukraine mess–the truly disastrous and inept way the Biden national security team went about it:
If you go back–we’re 100 days in…just 100 days ago, Biden and his team had no end in sight. This was an endless war. This was a meat-grinder of men and material and national treasure…He had never defined victory.
The dealmaking and direct talks with both Putin and Zelensky continue in several venues, with SecState Rubio, Sec. Bessent, and Special Envoy Witkoff, and it sounds like it’s a much more organized and serious process under Trump 47 than Biden. We’ll make sure to keep you posted on the progress.
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