Trump says the US will soon sign a minerals deal with Ukraine.

By Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, and Erin Banco

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States will sign a minerals and natural resources agreement with Ukraine soon and that efforts to reach a peace deal for the country were going "very well," following this week's talks with the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

Trump made the comments at a White House event after signing an order to increase production of essential minerals in the U.S.

"We are doing very well with regard to Ukraine and Russia. And one of the things we are doing is signing an agreement very soon with Ukraine regarding rare earth elements."

Trump was referring to separate discussions he had this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine.

These negotiations, which failed to meet Trump's goal of securing a full 30-day ceasefire, resulted in Putin agreeing to halt Russian attacks on energy infrastructure for this period. Zelenskiy said he would also accept the pause.

"We would very much like to see this (war) come to an end, and I think we are doing very well in that respect," Trump said.

"So, I hope we can save thousands of people a week from death. That's what it's all about. They are dying unnecessarily, and I believe we will do it."

Ukraine and the U.S. said this month that they have agreed to finalize as quickly as possible a comprehensive agreement to develop essential Ukrainian mineral resources, which Trump sees as a way of repaying the Americans for their assistance to Kyiv.

Efforts to finalize the peace agreement fell apart after a disastrous meeting at the White House between Trump and Zelenskiy late last month.

On Wednesday, the two agreed to work together to end the war, during what the White House described as a "fantastic" hour-long phone call -- the first conversation since the Oval Office discussion that resulted in a short-term cut in U.S. military and intelligence aid to Kiev.

It was unclear whether the agreement had changed. An earlier version did not include the explicit security guarantees that Ukraine sought, but it did give the U.S. access to revenues from Ukrainian natural resources.

It also stipulated that the Ukrainian government would contribute 50% of the monetized value of state-owned natural resources to a reconstruction investment fund managed by the US and Ukraine itself.

Asked how the current version of the minerals agreement differs from the previous draft, a senior U.S. official said it was "more detailed and comprehensive," declining to elaborate.

The Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Brussels on Thursday, European Union leaders said they would continue to support Ukraine, but did not immediately endorse Zelensky's call to approve a package of at least 5 billion euros for artillery purchases.