Y'all are overthinking all of this. This was the prelude, to the Oval Office visit:

Trump: So, this Selenski asshole trades us rare earth metals and natural gas for weapons, right? He he. Winning!

Advisor 1: Mr. President, I have some bad news for you. We have no one on-site to handle the extraction and it could take a decade to start getting much out.

Trump: Oh.

Advisor 2: Mr. President, I have even worse news. A lot of the stuff you want to extract is in the territory that Russia controls. Selenski can't give it to you, unless you help him get the territory back, first.

Trump: Dammit, that asshole arrives in 30 minutes! We need a plan...