Donald Trump has said he was working to reclaim billions of dollars spent on aiding Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The U.S. president's comments Saturday – just a day before the war's third anniversary – came as Washington and Kyiv negotiate a mineral resources deal he wants as compensation for the wartime aid his predecessor Joe Biden gave Kyiv.
Trump told delegates at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) near Washington: "I'm trying to get the money back, or secured.
"I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up. We're asking for rare earth and oil, anything we can get.
"We're going to get our money back because it's just not fair. And we will see, but I think we're pretty close to a deal, and we better be close because that has been a horrible situation."
Hours earlier, a source told AFP that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was "not ready" to sign such a deal, despite growing U.S. pressure.
Trump's special envoy Keith Kellogg, who met Zelenskyy this week, said the Ukrainian president understood signing a deal with the United States was "critical."
But the Ukrainian source told AFP that Kyiv needed assurances first.
"In the form in which the draft is now, the president is not ready to accept, we are still trying to make changes and add constructiveness," the source close to the matter said.
Ukraine wants any agreement signed with the United States to include security guarantees as it battles Russia's nearly three-year invasion.
