President Trump returns to jocular mood after the Ukrainians agree to sign his critical minerals deal, laughing off his having called Volodymyr Zelensky a ‘dictator’ last week.

Sitting alongside the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the White House on Thursday afternoon, President Trump was asked by a British journalist whether he still thinks President Volodymyr Zelensky is a dictator. The original comment came amid a hardball negotiations moment last week after the Ukrainian had refused to sign Trump’s offered minerals deal.

Zelensky has since relented, the deal has been agreed in principle and the Ukrainian President is expected in Washington D.C. tomorrow to sign it.

Reflecting, perhaps, that the moment for the bad cop routine has passed, responding to the question Trump playfully asked — to laughter among those in the room — “Did I say that, I can’t believe I would say that. Next question!”, reports the BBC.

A key criticism of President Trump of the previous administration’s handling of the Ukraine War is that the United States had spent billions on the defence of Kyiv without getting anything in return. The minerals deal allows America to recuperate its investment while also promoting investment and rebuilding in Ukrainian industry, a deal Trump has characterised as a win-win for both sides.