Welcome to the World in Ten.
In an increasingly uncertain world, this is the Times's daily podcast dedicated to global security.
To date with me, Tom Noonan and Toby Gillis.
The US and Ukraine have signed a memorandum of intent, suggesting they'll agree that minerals deal,
which was derailed by Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky's televised row in the Oval Office and proposing a future reconstruction fund for Ukraine.
At the same time, after weeks of allies and analysts claiming Russia is stalling on a peace deal,
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US will walk away from talks
if a ceasefire isn't agreed.
So is the relationship between Washington and Kiev healing and have things cooled with the Kremlin?
Our guest today is Professor Scott Lucas,
a specialist in US foreign policy and Professor of American Studies at the Clinton Institute at University College Dublin.
Scott, just starting on this news about progress towards a mineral deal,
it seems like this is a more positive step for those who want the US and Ukraine to work closely together.
Where do you think it leaves us?
Well,
the starting point is
that we actually have different camps within the Trump administration that are giving different signals.
So if we focus on the rare earth minerals and give a bit of context,
we know that there have been signals all along from Donald Trump and from his vice president, J.D.
Vance, trashing the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.