President Donald Trump's national security adviser said Friday that he expected Ukraine to accept and sign a proposed deal that would include U.S. investments in its mineral assets to help recoup some U.S. defense funding.

The Trump administration had proposed the rare earth mineral deal as part of the larger negotiation toward ending the war in Ukraine.

Mike Waltz's comments followed reports that the Trump administration presented Kyiv with a revised version of a minerals agreement after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected the initial proposal.

Speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington, Waltz said: “Well, look, here's the bottom line: President Zelenskyy is going to sign that deal. And you will see that in the very short term. And that is good for Ukraine.”

Those comments came following a sharp exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president, responding to Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine started its war with Russia, said the U.S. president was living in a Russian-influenced "disinformation space."

Trump countered on his Truth Social platform, calling Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections."

On Friday, Trump referenced his indirect exchanges with Zelenskyy while speaking to a gathering of the Republican State Governors Association at the White House. The president described having “very good talks with [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin,” and “not such good talks with Ukraine.” He mentioned how Ukraine talks “tough” but does not have a lot of bargaining chips.

Trump sent Keith Kellogg, his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, to Kyiv for meetings with Zelenskyy on Thursday. Comments following that meeting indicated the relationship had been smoothed over.

On his X social media account, Zelenskyy had nothing but positive things to say.

“My meeting with General Kellogg was one that restores hope, and we need strong agreements with the U.S. — agreements that will truly work,” Zelenskyy said. “I have instructed my team to work quickly and very sensibly.”

“We all need peace — Ukraine, Europe, America and the entire world,” Zelenskyy added.

Kellogg, from his X account, reposted Zelenskyy’s comments, and stated, “Extensive and positive discussions with [Zelenskyy], the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war, and his talented national security team.”

Much of the tension this past week involved talks on Ukraine between a U.S. delegation led by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia. No Ukrainian or European representatives were present.

Rubio later noted that the meeting did not involve any fine points of the deal.

Ukraine fears that Trump is moving to settle the war on terms that could be more favorable to Moscow. Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine's internationally recognized territory.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told the CPAC meeting Thursday that Trump "wants the killing to stop" in Ukraine and that "peace is in the interest of the American people."

Vance said after the U.S.-Russian talks in Riyadh, "We're on the cusp of peace." He did not mention Ukraine's role in settling the conflict, although U.S. officials have said Kyiv and Moscow will both be involved in the settlement and will have to make concessions to achieve peace.

European leaders have responded to Trump's recent remarks about Ukraine by pledging to step up spending on defense, and some are considering a U.S.-backed European peacekeeping force for the country if the fighting ends. The Kremlin says the plan is a major cause for concern, but Zelenskyy and NATO have welcomed it.

Tatiana Vorozhko Koprowicz, Myroslava Gongadze and Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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