United States President Donald Trump says he hopes to soon reach an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the rights to mineral resources in Ukraine. Trump says it would serve as compensation for US defense aid.



Trump said: "I will be meeting with President Zelenskyy, in fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement. The agreements being worked on now, they're very close to a final deal."



A senior White House official said last week that Trump was frustrated the two sides haven't yet reached an agreement. He called Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections"



Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna says the negotiations between the two sides have been constructive, with nearly all the key details finalized and that they could soon sign an agreement in Washington.



Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there are reserves in what he calls Russia's "new territories" or "historic territories," referring to the four Ukrainian regions now controlled by Moscow.