Zelensky has been pushing for a deal to include a firm security guarantee from the US.

But on Wednesday, Ukraine’s leader said no such guarantee had been made.

“I wanted to have a sentence on security guarantees for Ukraine, and it’s important that it’s there,” he said.

Asked by the BBC if he would be prepared to walk away from the agreement if Trump did not offer the guarantees he wanted, Zelensky said: “I want to find a Nato path or something similar.

“If we don’t get security guarantees, we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing.”

Despite this, Shmyhal said on Wednesday the US supported “Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees to build lasting peace”.

He said Ukraine would not sign the deal until Zelensky and Trump “agree on security guarantees” and decide on how to “tie this preliminary agreement” to a US security guarantee.

Trump said on Wednesday that the US would not provide security guarantees “beyond… very much”, saying responsibility for this fell to Europe.

But he added that the presence of American workers on Ukrainian soil would provide “automatic security”.

The prospect of a minerals deal was first proposed by Zelensky last year as a way to offer the US a tangible reason to continue supporting Ukraine.

Trump said on Tuesday that Ukraine would get “the right to fight on” in return for access to its minerals and suggested the US would continue to supply equipment and ammunition “until we have a deal with Russia”.

The US President has also said Russia is open to accepting European peacekeepers in Ukraine, but Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin would not consider this as an option.