Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on the phone on Thursday, May 8, just hours after the Ukrainian Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of the country's natural resources cultivation agreement (338 votes in favor and nine abstentions). The Ukrainian president hailed "a truly historic document that opens up many new opportunities for cooperation" on X. Zelensky also said he had a "good conversation" with his American counterpart and took the opportunity to reiterate his readiness for a 30-day ceasefire, which the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has so far refused. Putin unilaterally announced a 72-hour truce, which began on the night of Wednesday on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany's capitulation, yet both sides are accusing each other of violations.
Trump, for his part, did not mention the mineral agreement on his Truth Social network. He preferred to call, "ideally," for a 30-day ceasefire. "If the ceasefire is not respected, the United States and its partners will impose further sanctions," he warned.
The signing, on April 30, of the agreement establishing an investment and reconstruction fund, financed in equal parts by both Ukraine and the US, ended months of negotiations between the two countries. These talks were marked by numerous tensions at a particularly delicate time for Ukraine, as the US seeks a rapid peace agreement and has signaled impatience for several weeks. Kyiv hopes that ratifying the pact will help keep Washington engaged.
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