Washington DC, March 20 -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said that he would be signing a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine "very shortly."

Ahead of signing an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, Trump expressed optimism about a potential ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"Our country is doing very well. Things are--as you can see--doing quite well," he said.

Trump announced that he had signed an executive order to boost the production of critical minerals in the United States.

"Moments ago, I signed an executive order to dramatically increase production of critical minerals and rare earths. It's a big thing in this country. We're also signing agreements in various locations to unlo...