President Donald Trump said he remains in "serious" discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the country’s war with Ukraine.
Trump said on his Truth Social account he was also engaging in discussions with Putin about major economic transactions between the U.S. and Russia.
"Talks are proceeding very well," Trump wrote.
Trump spent Monday meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the third anniversary of the Russa-Ukraine war. Trump has been working to end the conflict through negotiations with Putin and other European countries.
"Everyone expressed their goal of seeing the war end, and I emphasized the importance of the vital 'Critical Minerals and Rare-Earths Deal' between the United States and Ukraine, which we hope will be signed very soon," Trump posted. "This deal, which is an 'economic partnership,' will ensure the American people recoup the tens of billions of dollars and military equipment sent to Ukraine, while also helping Ukraine’s economy grow as this brutal and savage war comes to an end."
Macron has called Russia an "an existential threat to Europeans."
"You have a power that has overly armed itself ... and continues to arm itself," Macron said before departing for Washington. "We don't know where it will stop today. So we must all act to contain it."
The European Union on Monday hit Russia with a new round of sanctions aimed at curbing its war effort.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by accusing Europe of wanting to prolong the fighting, unlike the U.S.
"This conviction of the Europeans completely contrasts with the mindset of finding a settlement on Ukraine, which we are now doing with the Americans," Peskov told reporters after the sanctions were announced.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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