New Delhi, Feb. 28 -- US President Donald Trump on Friday met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House ahead of signing a deal that will give the United States access to rare earth minerals as part of an overall plan to help Ukraine recover after a truce in the war with Russia.

During the meeting at Oval office, Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that a truce with Russia is "fairly close" and that the deal allowing US exploitation of Ukraine's natural resources would be "very fair."

Trump also told Zelenskyy that he either "make a deal" with Russia "or we're out."

The meeting comes a week after Donald Trump branded Volodymyr Zelenskyy a dictator before making a U-turn saying, "Did I say that? I can't believe I said ...