Trump։ "Zelensky will have very big problems if he refuses to make a deal"

Donald Trump has said Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelensky faces “big, big problems” if he backs out of a mineral deal with the US.

“He’s trying to back out of the rare earth deal,” Mr Trump told reporters on Air Force One of Mr Zelensky, referring to an agreement that would provide the US with access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.

“If he does that, he’s got some problems. Big, big problems. We made a deal on rare earth. And now he’s saying, "well you know, I want to renegotiate the deal".”

Speaking en route from Florida to Washington, Mr Trump said: “He wants to be a member of Nato. He was never going to be a member of Nato. He understands that.”

Last week, international media reported that the United States had presented Kiev with a revised draft agreement that would give the United States almost complete control over all of Ukraine’s mineral resources without providing Kiev with security guarantees.

Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine had received the document. Earlier on Thursday, at a press conference in Paris, he said that the terms of the deal were constantly changing.