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President Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of trying to “back out” of signing a critical minerals deal with the US — warning of “big problems” if he does. “He’s trying to

back out of the rare earth deal and if he does that he’s got some problems, big, big problems,” Trump told reporters on Sunday on Air Force One. “He wants to be a member of NATO, but he’s

never going to be a member of NATO. He understands that.” EXPLORE MORE The White House has been pushing Kyiv to accept the agreement, which would see Ukraine share its rich mineral deposits,

 oil and gas with the US. Trump has characterized the deal as a repayment for the billions in aid the US has given Ukraine over the past three years to support the country’s war with Russia.

Last week, the two countries issued a joint statement saying they had agreed to conclude a comprehensive agreement as soon as possible. The development was a sharp turnaround from Trump and

Zelensky’s widely publicized dust-up in the Oval Office last month when their meeting threw the deal into limbo. Zelensky, for his part, has said Kyiv’s lawyers need to review the draft

agreement before he can say more about the US offer. “It’s too early to talk about the agreement, which has been changed several times,” the Ukrainian president said last week.  “But I would

not want the US to have a feeling that Ukraine is against it in general. We have consistently shown our positive signals. We are for cooperation with the United States.” The commander in

chief’s latest warning comes after he – for the first time – directly criticized and openly expressed his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Kremlin’s repeated delays

in enacting limited cease-fires. Trump, who has previously lauded Putin as a “genius,” and even suggested Ukraine was at fault for the 2022 Russian invasion, threatened to place stiff

tariffs on the Kremlin within a month if an agreement wasn’t reached.  “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault –

which it might not be – but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, and all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump told NBC News on Sunday.  “That would be

that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” he added. “There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.” Trump signaled he was

“very angry” and “pissed off” at Putin after Moscow called for a slew of new conditions before it would comply with the US-backed deal to halt attacks against each nation’s energy grid and

in the busy Black Sea trade route, NBC reported.  Specifically, Trump railed against a report that Putin called for a transitional government in Ukraine that would push out Zelensky. The

Russian leader also said Ukraine’s generals should remove Zelensky themselves, according to the AFP. Despite echoing Moscow’s claims against Zelensky’s legitimacy earlier this year, the

president said attacks on the Ukrainian leader were “not going in the right location.” Trump, however, said he still maintains a “very good relationship” with Putin – who he’s previously

described as “savvy” – and added that his anger would quell so long as the Russian strongman “does the right thing.” The two world leaders are expected to speak again this week to try and

move the cease-fire along, Trump told NBC.  _With Post wires._