President Increases Pressure on Zelensky to Accept Peace Deal with Strict Terms
Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Ukraine to accept a U.S.-proposed deal granting rights to its mineral wealth, criticizing the current arrangement as "stupid" and "unfair" to America, which he claims receives nothing in return for supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
“I think we’re pretty close to a deal,” Trump stated during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), adding, “We better be close to one.”
A revised draft of the agreement, dated February 21 and reviewed by The New York Times, indicates that the White House is demanding half of Ukraine’s revenue from its mineral wealth, including gas, oil, and profits from ports and infrastructure. The new terms are reportedly more stringent than those revealed by The Telegraph last week.
Trump asserted that the U.S. had provided Ukraine with $350 billion (£277 billion), contrasting this with what he described as Europe’s $100 billion "loan." However, the Kiel Institute, a respected tracker of war-related aid, estimates that both the U.S. and Europe have pledged roughly $200 billion each in military and financial assistance.
Trump insisted that Europe had only extended Ukraine a "loan," whereas the U.S. was "getting nothing" in return. “So we’re getting our money back,” he declared.
In October, the EU approved a €35 billion (£29 billion) loan to Ukraine, with Brussels clarifying that funds would be recouped from profits generated by frozen Russian assets.
Ukrainian sources told the Financial Times on Saturday that the mineral rights deal "needs more work," with President Volodymyr Zelensky refusing to sign it due to the absence of guarantees for future U.S. support against Russian aggression.
During a lengthy victory speech filled with jokes, jabs, and bold claims, Trump remarked that Democrats had “lost their confidence” in the early weeks of his second term. Addressing a cheering crowd at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center near Washington, D.C., he boasted that Republicans were now "fighting, winning, and dominating Washington like never before."
“For years, Washington was controlled by a sinister group of radical Left Marxists. Who obliterated our borders and sucked our country dry? Not any longer!” Trump proclaimed.
He praised his cabinet, singling out his heavy-set border czar, Tom Homan, as looking like he was "from central casting." Meanwhile, a group of freed January 6 rioters intermittently disrupted his speech by shouting from the back of the room.
Trump also welcomed Nigel Farage to CPAC, congratulating the Reform leader for securing parliamentary seats in the last election. "I wasn’t sure—am I supposed to be his friend?" Trump mused. "It’s easier to like him after the kind of votes he got."
Comparing his first four weeks in office to sinking a four-foot putt at the start of an 18-hole game, Trump said, "It gives you the confidence to sink another one."
He also revisited a past spat with Joe Biden over golf skills, asserting that Biden was "not a 6 handicap—he’s not even a 36 handicap." He quipped that the only thing Biden could beat him at was "falling asleep in front of the media."
Shifting gears, Trump praised Elon Musk, drawing loud cheers from the audience. "We love Elon, don’t we?" he said. "And he’s the only one who could get away with naming his son X."
Trump listed programs cut by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including a USAID-funded $10 million circumcision initiative in Mozambique and $20 million for Sesame Street in Iraq. He joked that the latter could be staged on Broadway "for $1 million, leaving $19 million left over."
Fact-checking organizations later noted that some of the funds supported childhood development programs in conflict zones.
Trump also mentioned plans to visit Fort Knox with Musk to investigate whether its 27 tons of gold had been "stolen." “Wouldn’t be surprised if we open the door and there’s nothing there,” he remarked.
On Saturday, Politico reported that the Trump administration was displeased with Keith Kellogg’s perceived closeness to Ukraine. The president’s chief envoy for Ukraine was reportedly sidelined from a high-level Russia meeting in Riyadh and relegated to negotiations solely with Kyiv.
Frustrated with Kellogg’s sympathetic stance toward Ukraine, Trump allegedly instructed him not to appear alongside Zelensky at a scheduled Kyiv press conference. Kellogg later took to social media, stating that Trump "wants peace and is committed to it" and that "his leadership will get the world there." He also suggested that Zelensky "understands the critical nature of the economic deal with the U.S. and the need to end this war with an enduring peace settlement."
In an opinion piece for the Financial Times, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the proposed resource extraction deal, arguing it would help fuel Ukraine’s post-war recovery.
Earlier, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addressed CPAC via live broadcast from Rome. She praised Ukrainians as a "proud people fighting for their freedom against brutal aggression" and subtly urged Trump not to abandon Ukraine, emphasizing the need for "a just and lasting peace."
Expressing confidence in Trump’s leadership, Meloni declared that under his presidency, "the U.S. will never again see the disaster we saw in Afghanistan four years ago," referring to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal that led to the Taliban’s return to power.
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