Donald Trump’s former aide has branded Volodymyr Zelensky an untrustworthy “crook” and a “punk” following the US President’s heated public exchange with the Ukrainian leader last week. Speaking to Sky News, Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist during Trump’s first administration, urged his old boss not to strike a deal with Kyiv after the Ukrainian president missed the opportunity to do so last week.

It comes as Trump gears up to sign a deal that would allow the US to access Ukraine’s raw minerals, which was thrown into doubt following his explosive meeting with Zelensky in the Oval Office last Friday. When asked whether Trump should still pursue the deal, Mr Bannon said: “Absolutely not. He [Zelenskyy] had his shot. Zelenskyy is untrustworthy. He’s a crook and a punk. And he showed what a punk he was in the Oval Office the other day.” He claimed Mr Zelenskyy started the row by asking for security guarantees from the US, which he claimed the American public would never accept.

“They told him, time and time and time again, do not bring up security guarantees. A security guarantee means… American troops and that will never happen.”

He also claimed the deal was unnecessary and only a “very general framework” anyway, which threatened to tie the US to the “future reconstruction of the country”.

He added: “We don’t need a rare Earth deal. The United States doesn’t need rare earths from Ukraine. That was a total gift to him and the Ukrainian people.”

This comes after it emerged that a deal could be back on the table, despite last week’s meeting between the countries’ leaders descending into chaos.

The heated exchange saw the wartime leader being accused of not being thankful enough for the support received and risking World War 3.

Despite this, Trump said in a speech delivered to Congress on Wednesday that he received a letter from Zelensky indicating a willingness to sign a rare Earth minerals deal between Ukraine and the US, indicating the Ukrainian leader’s willingness to return to the negotiating table following the public spat.

The US commander-in-chief also said his administration had been in “serious talks” with Russia and “received strong signals” that Vladimir Putin was similarly “ready for peace”.

The Kremlin praised Mr Trump’s move to freeze US military support to Ukraine on Monday, suggesting that it would “encourage” Kyiv to engage in the peace process.