U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine could finalize a peace agreement within the week, suggesting that successful negotiations would unlock significant economic opportunities with the United States.
“Hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Both will then start to do big business with the United States of America, which is thriving, and make a fortune.”
His statement followed a warning issued on April 18, where he cautioned that the U.S. would step back from mediation if either party disrupted the negotiation process. “If one of the two parties makes things unnecessarily difficult, we’ll simply walk away,” he said.
Trump’s comments came as a 30-hour Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin was underway. Despite this, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported over 2,000 violations and called for a month-long pause on long-range attacks. The Kremlin has yet to issue a response to this proposal.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky dismissed the truce as a mere “media stunt” designed to appeal to Trump’s expectations. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington might abandon its mediation role if no progress is evident.
Throughout its mediation efforts, the Trump administration has prioritized economic incentives. Following a phone call between Trump and Putin in March, the White House pointed to the potential for “enormous economic deals” between the United States and Russia.
Additionally, Trump is supporting a minerals agreement with Ukraine, which would grant the U.S. extensive access to the country’s natural resource revenues in exchange for prior military assistance. However, the deal does not include any formal security guarantees.
