Trump assures that the U.S. is very close to reaching an agreement with Ukraine on its minerals: "We get our money back"

President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that his administration is very close to reaching a deal with Ukraine over its rare minerals, assuring that the United States will get back the money it has sent to the European country as aid due to the war with Russia.

"So we’re signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time," Trump told reporters  in the Oval Office, just after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's swearing-in ceremony.

"You know, I think they want it, and they feel good about it," Trump continued. "And it's significant. It's a big deal. But they want it, and it keeps us in that country. And they're very happy about it."

Trump's remarks came after White House national security adviser Mike Waltz told the CPAC 2025 that the Ukraine deal will bewill be made official in a few days.

"We get our money back. They should have been signed long before we went in," Trump continued, questioning the previous administration for not pursuing a similar deal. "They should have been signed by Biden. But Biden didn't know too much about what he was doing. The war should have never happened, No. 1. When it did happen, it could have been settled."

"The first week or two weeks after that, it got bad. It got really bad, but it should have been, it should have never happened. And it should have been settled, and it could have been settled very easily at the beginning. Now it's tougher, but we'll get it settled," the president said, without providing further details.

In addition to the White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a post on social media that both countries are working on a draft agreement.

"Today, Ukrainian and U.S. teams are working on a draft agreement between our governments," said the Ukrainian leader, who in recent days exchanged pleasantries with President Trump. "This agreement can add value to our relations—what matters most is getting the details right to ensure it truly works."

A couple of days earlier, Zelenski accused Trump of spreading "disinformation" about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, something that did not go down well with the U.S. president, who called the Ukrainian leader a "dictator without elections."