President Donald Trump signed a minerals agreement with Ukraine this week, but it hasn’t brought the U.S. any closer to getting Vladimir Putin to accept the White House’s peace offer. Trump’s administration pushed the deal as a major win, but no one inside the West Wing agrees on what the next move should be. And despite four meetings between Trump’s envoy and Putin over the past four months, Russia’s position on the war hasn’t changed. According to Politico , people involved in the discussions said the administration could pressure the Kremlin directly, but Trump hasn’t supported that path. “More sanctions would be the next turn of the screw,” one official said. “If the president wants to go that route.” So far, he hasn’t. He hasn’t backed a Republican-led sanctions bill either. That proposal, written by Senator Lindsey Graham, includes new restrictions on Russia and a 500% tariff on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, or aluminum. The bill already has wide bipartisan support in the Senate and could pass even if Trump doesn’t approve it. Officials push the deal while Putin keeps bombing Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, said on Thursday that he spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Graham’s bill . He called it “commendable” and said the European Union should work with the U.S. on applying the sanctions. But while European diplomats talk strategy, Russia has stepped up its bombing campaign. Putin has continued rejecting Trump’s plan, which would freeze the current battle lines and allow Russia to keep the territory it holds now. Trump hasn’t taken any new action in response to the airstrikes. His only move has been vague posts on social media about maybe going tougher. Nothing real. Over the last four months, he’s also refused to commit to any more aid or long-term security promises for Ukraine. That’s what led to this economic agreement in the first place. In a Thursday press briefing, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, called the minerals deal “historic” and said it proved the president is “the dealmaker in chief.” The timing was deliberate. Trump just passed the 100-day mark of his second term without making progress on any of the international promises he made during his campaign. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent , who led the negotiations, told Fox Business that the deal could change the dynamic. “This is a strong signal to the Russian leadership, and it gives President Trump the ability to now negotiate with Russia on even a stronger basis,” Bessent said. He brought up Trump’s February meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where the president told the Ukrainian leader he “didn’t have the cards” to win the peace talks. Now, Bessent claimed, “President Trump has dealt him the royal flush.” But Richard Haass, former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the deal doesn’t fix anything. “We shouldn’t oversell this,” Haass said. “It’s not a substitute for an open-ended, longer-term U.S. military and intelligence support for Ukraine.” He added, “The single biggest question is whether this agreement leads to something more between the U.S. and Ukraine.” Deal secures U.S. mining access, not repayment Trump originally wanted the U.S. to receive $500 billion from Ukraine’s future mineral revenue to make up for the $120 billion in defense aid the U.S. sent over the past three years. That didn’t happen. The final deal doesn’t require Ukraine to repay anything. Instead, both countries agreed to set up a joint investment fund to support rebuilding efforts after the war ends. Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. gets preferential access to Ukraine’s critical minerals. But Kyiv still controls where and what gets mined. Ukraine keeps ownership of all natural resources and will contribute 50% of revenue from any new mining, oil, or gas licenses. The U.S. can add money to the fund directly or through military aid, which gives Congress an opening to approve more support—though passing that kind of spending is still a long shot. Bessent said the talks moved faster after Trump and Zelenskyy met during Pope Francis’ funeral last weekend. Trump has also been visibly frustrated by Russia’s increasing attacks on Kyiv and Putin’s refusal to compromise. One White House official said the Russian government’s public stance is even more stubborn than its private messaging. Cryptopolitan Academy: Want to grow your money in 2025? Learn how to do it with DeFi in our upcoming webclass. Save Your Spot
