Donald Trump is almost ready to announce whether US will remain in Paris climate deal

President Donald Trump has said he will make a final decision on whether the US will stay in the Paris climate agreement next week.

Trump's surprise announcement, in the form of a tweet on the final day of his lengthy international trip, comes after he declined to publicly commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal.

Earlier Saturday (27 May), the other six members of the G7 voted to abide by the Paris climate agreement, according to a person familiar with the talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement.

Trump was cajoled for three days – first in Brussels at meetings of NATO and the European Union, then in Sicily for G7 – but will leave Italy without making clear where he stands.

Under the G7 agreement, the Trump administration will be given more time to consider whether it will remain committed to the 2015 Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.

Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Trump's campaign and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they don't opt out entirely.

Other G7 nations leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the climate deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying "we put forward very many arguments".

Gary Cohn, national economic council director, said on Friday of the president's thinking: "His views are evolving, he came here to learn and get smarter."

Bringing to an end a nine-day trip that started in Saudi Arabia and Israel before moving on to three European stops, Trump will return to the White House under a cloud of scandal.

As a newly appointed special counsel is beginning his investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and close adviser, has become a focus of the probe, according to The Washington Post. His lawyer said Kushner will cooperate with investigators.