President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States could walk away from the negotiating table to end the Russia-Ukraine war, echoing warnings from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In a press conference from the Oval Office,

France hosted high-level talks Thursday to discuss Ukraine and its security, the first time since President Donald Trump's inauguration that top American, Ukrainian and European officials are known to have met together to discuss an end to the war.

Ukraine said on Thursday that Kyiv and Washington had signed a memorandum as an initial step towards clinching an agreement on developing mineral resources in Ukraine, a deal promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has treated the long-anticipated agreement as a key component of U.S. efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Ukraine and the U.S. could sign online a memorandum of intent on Thursday on the minerals deal currently being negotiated by the two countries, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. President Donald Trump has pushed for a deal that would allow the United States to have privileged access to Ukraine's natural resources and critical minerals in what he casts as repayment for military aid provided by Washington to Ukraine under the previous presidency of Joe Biden.