America’s decades-old commitment to protect Persian Gulf oil offers some perspective as Ukraine and the U.S. close in on a minerals deal.

Russia’s stalling contrasted with Trump’s rush for a valuable breakthrough as his trade policies set off stock market slumps and cast a cloud over the economy. “I think we’re going to be in very good shape to get it done. We want to get it over with,” Trump said at the Oval Office on Thursday, in an outburst of optimism that jarred with reality.

The Kremlin said there are reasons to be optimistic about a settlement to the conflict but that more work needs to be done.