The UK is prepared to use its military to support a “tough and fair” Ukraine peace deal, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday.
The two leaders also discussed a potential trade deal that could prevent tariffs on British imports and Mr Trump accepted an invitation from King Charles to visit the UK for an unprecedented second state visit.
Talks focused on the situation in Ukraine, which Russia invaded three years ago, and Mr Trump seemed to soften in his views on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The US leader distanced himself from a previous comment he made calling Mr Zelenskyy a dictator, now saying he has “a lot of respect” for him.
Mr Zelenskyy is due to meet Mr Trump on Friday to sign a contentious deal that would give America the right to profit from the future extraction of rare-earth minerals in Ukraine.
“We discussed a plan today to reach a peace that is tough and fair, that Ukraine will help shape, that is backed by strength, to stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin coming back for more,” Mr Starmer said alongside Mr Trump at the White House. “I'm clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last.”
He said the UK is “all in” when it comes to supporting Ukraine and defence funding.
In another comment sure to be welcomed by traditional US allies, Mr Trump said he supports Nato's Article 5 mutual defence commitments, although he doubted it would ever be called for in Ukraine.
“I think we're going to have a very successful peace, and I think it's going to be a long, lasting peace, and I think it's going to happen, hopefully quickly,” Mr Trump said.
But he seemed to dismiss the idea of concrete security guarantees, something for which Mr Starmer had lobbied.
“We are a backstop because we'll be over there, we'll be working,” as a result of the economic partnership, Mr Trump said. “We're going to have a lot of people over there.”
Mr Starmer appeared eager to charm the President, repeatedly saying peace negotiations for Ukraine had only been made possible because of him. He also handed the letter of invitation from King Charles for a state visit. Mr Trump immediately accepted.
But despite the mutual good feeling, underlying differences between the US and UK stance on Ukraine were not far below the surface and Mr Starmer lobbied for continued US support for Kyiv and the inclusion of European leaders in talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Mr Starmer's visit comes two days after French President Emmanuel Macron met Mr Trump, reflecting mounting concern in much of Europe over the US leader's approach to ending the Ukraine war quickly, even if it means surrendering territory to Russia.
Mr Zelenskyy is expected to visit the White House on Friday morning to sign the agreement giving the US access to minerals deposits as payback for military aid.
“We're going to be signing really a very important agreement for both sides, because it's really going to get us into that country,” Mr Trump said.
On a potential US-UK trade deal, he said the allies would “have a great trade agreement one way or the other. We're going to end up with a very good trade agreement for both countries".
Mr Starmer said he would work with Mr Trump on a new economic deal with advanced technology, such as artificial intelligence, at its core.
Mr Trump also indicated support for a British deal to cede control of the Indian Ocean island chain that hosts a joint US-UK military base, bringing Mr Starmer closer to a hard-fought foreign policy win. Mr Trump told him that he was “inclined to go along” with the decision to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while maintaining control of military facilities on Diego Garcia.
Mr Trump, who took office last month, campaigned on an “America first” approach to foreign policy, promising to end the war and cut US military funding for Ukraine. He says the US has grossly overspent American taxpayers' money on the conflict compared to European countries, which are much closer geographically to the war and should therefore pay a fairer share.
He has promoted the minerals deal as necessary to reimburse the US for aid disbursed under his predecessor, Joe Biden. The agreement would give the US access to rare earth deposits in Ukraine for years.
“As we await President Zelenskyy's visit tomorrow, we're expecting that meeting to include the final step of an economic partnership, which is historic in that it will build an economic bridge between the Ukrainians and the United States,” a senior Trump administration official said on Thursday.
“It's an important next step, as all of these steps are, that economic partnership represents an opportunity for the taxpayers of America to see benefit from their participation in the Ukrainian conflict defence, and also an opportunity for the Ukrainians to immediately turn from a peaceful resolution to a strong economic growth.”
Mr Zelenskyy had initially baulked at the deal, which would forfeit $500 billion in revenue to the US. Mr Trump has also refrained from committing to security guarantees, which is a focal point for Kyiv.
Mr Starmer said he would discuss with Mr Trump how to ensure that Russia does not breach terms of a brokered peace deal with Ukraine.
“We've talked and we will talk about how we work with yourself, Mr President, to ensure that this deal is something which is not violated, because it's very important that if there is a deal, we keep it,” he said.
Mr Trump responded that he believes Mr Putin would “keep his word” and honour the terms of a peace deal.
“I've known him for a long time now,” he said. “I don't believe he's going to violate his word.”
Last week, the Trump administration held talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the war, which excluded Ukrainian and European leaders, in a stark reversal of US foreign policy three years after Russia began its full-scale invasion.
A senior administration official said the talks in Saudi Arabia were “the start of a negotiation process” and that future discussions would include Ukrainians and European partners.
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