When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, they were there to sign a deal that would give the US access to a significant share of Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Instead, the deal remained unsigned and Zelensky was asked to leave.

Meanwhile, Russian officials are working on their own set of deals with Trump – and they have negotiators with deep knowledge of what the US president wants.