Latvia’s foreign minister is warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to achieve in peace talks what he hasn’t been able to accomplish in his war against Ukraine — weaken the United States and restore control over his smaller neighbor.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States is close to a minerals deal with Ukraine as he and French President Emmanuel Macron held talks that covered the prospects for ending the Ukraine war amid stark differences on how to proceed.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include the exploitation of rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

Ukraine has agreed the terms of a major minerals deal with the US, a senior official in Kyiv has told the BBC. "We have indeed agreed it with a number of good amendments and see it as a positive outcome,

President Donald Trump deepened Washington’s split with allies over Ukraine, withdrawing US condemnation of Russia’s 2022 invasion at the United Nations and among Group of Seven countries as he aims to end the war on terms agreeable to Moscow.