After the spat in the Oval Office of the White House last week, US President Donald Trump's representatives have held behind-the-scenes talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team, urging them to resume talks, according to two sources familiar with the discussions, CNN reports.

Also, the Trump administration hopes to announce the Ukrainian rare-earth minerals’ deal.

The sources noted that Trump's representatives stressed the importance of quickly stabilizing Ukraine’s relations with the White House, and urged the Ukrainians to resume talks before the US president's address at the Congress on Tuesday night.

Among those who contacted Zelenskyy was the US Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, one of the sources said.

A White House official told CNN on Tuesday night that the rare-earth minerals’ deal with Ukraine had not yet been signed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is directly engaged in negotiating the deal, told Fox News that he plans to sign it before Trump’s speech, which was scheduled for 9pm.

But a White House official said the Trump administration is confident that the discussions on extending the minerals’ deal are moving in the right direction.

The US president, who plans to speak on foreign wars—particularly the war between Ukraine and Russia—in his address, wants to declare victory on the aforesaid mining deal, the official added.