Ukraine peace deal will happen ‘fairly quickly or not at all’: Trump
Washington: The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pressed President Donald Trump for a more substantial US commitment to protecting Ukraine if the war ends and warned his US counterpart not to reward Russian President Vladimir Putin in any peace deal.
But in Oval Office talks and a later press conference, Trump publicly brushed aside those pleas, insisting that it was “now or never to negotiate an end to the brutal war”.
Speaking alongside Starmer at a joint press conference, Trump said a deal to end the war would “happen fairly quickly or not happen at all”.
“We’re working very hard to get that war brought to an end. I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” Trump said, whose week of high-level meetings concludes on Friday with a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump’s refusal to acquiesce to Starmer’s requests was a blow to European leaders who came to the White House this week to air their concerns that his aggressive efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine will result in conceding too much to Putin.
The Starmer trip comes just two days after French President Emmanuel Macron came to Washington to deliver the same message.
Zelensky’s visit on Friday is expected to produce a controversial minerals deal that Trump contends will give the US access to his country’s precious metals as “payback” for the tens of billions in military and development aid Washington sent their way since Russia invaded in early 2022.
The US President will likely adopt the same hard-nosed attitude as Zelensky, who is expected to sign a modified economic development and mineral deal after first bluntly rejecting the idea.
Trump suggested on Thursday that having US companies inside Ukraine mining critical mineral sites will be enough to deter Russia from a second invasion, although some of Ukraine’s most lucrative deposits are located in the parts of its territory now occupied by Russian forces.
“I don’t think anyone is going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers,” the US President said.
He also made it clear that he doesn’t plan to make nice with Zelensky as the two leaders have escalated their feud in recent weeks. When asked if he would apologise for calling Zelensky a “dictator”, Trump sidestepped the question.
“I think we are going to have a very good meeting tomorrow,” Trump said.
Starmer lavished Trump with gifts and produced a surprise personal invitation from King Charles for a state visit to Britain. Trump accepted the offer, although no date for the visit was announced.
The invitation makes Trump the first elected politician in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch, a point repeatedly played up by the visiting Prime Minister. Trump also was invited for a state visit by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2019.
“This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented and I think it just symbolises the relationship between us,” Starmer said.
“So this is really special.”
On another issue, the new British leader appeared to make some headway in shielding the UK from a slate of new tariffs, which Trump is preparing for allies and adversaries.
Trump has vowed to place new tariffs on European imports to compensate for what he says are restrictions on US exports and European restrictions.
“We’re going to have a great trade agreement,” Trump said at one point, saying Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other aides are working on a US-UK bilateral trade and investment accord that could be struck “very shortly”.
Despite the efforts to appeal to Trump, there were signs that the two leaders’ behind-the-scenes talks were tense.
Trump described their talks as “outstanding” but hinted at some difficulties as Starmer pressed him on security guarantees for Ukraine.
“You’ve been terrific in our discussions. You’re a very tough negotiator, however, I’m not sure I like that, but that’s OK,” Trump said.
Starmer publicly warned Trump against accepting any peace deal that rewards Russia, saying it could set off a chain reaction, making Europe less safe and emboldening other US adversaries such as China and Iran.
“We have to get it right. There’s a famous slogan in the United Kingdom from after the Second World War that ‘we have to win the peace,’ and that is what we must do now. Because it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to dangerous regimes like Iran,” he said.
Perhaps most concerning for Starmer was Trump’s brushing aside questions about whether the US would respond with its military might if British troops were attacked in post-war Ukraine.
Starmer and Macron, the French President, have endorsed using troops as a peacekeeping force to provide security guarantees for Ukraine.
However, Starmer said he would only commit British troops alongside other European nations and “with the right conditions in place”.
European leaders have argued that using their troops in Ukraine can only work with the support of the more sophisticated American military, an idea that Trump had dismissed. Although the US won’t commit to boots on the ground, it could provide aerial intelligence, surveillance and support, and a quick response if the truce is breached.
“They don’t need much help. They can take care of themselves very well,” Mr. Trump said before adding, “I’ll always be with the British.”
Starmer also suggested that Trump won’t provide a military backstop to Europe’s security efforts. When asked whether Trump has inched any closer, he responded that a peace deal “has to come first”.
Since returning to the White House last month, Trump has angered US allies in Europe with his overtures to Putin, hurling insults at Zelensky by calling him a “dictator” and insisting Ukraine repay the US for its financial support.
Last week, the Trump administration held peace talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia but excluded Ukraine and other European allies. This week, the US refused to vote for resolutions at the United Nations, blaming Russia for the war, which has persisted for more than three years.
Starmer sought to underscore that a peace deal with Russia that doesn’t include Ukraine or European nations could lead to further instability in Europe, which could come back to haunt the US
It was a similar argument that Macron raised on Monday.
Both European leaders, however, also pledged to do more to protect Ukraine.
Starmer noted that the United Kingdom had its “biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.” Earlier this week, Mr. Starmer announced it would raise its military spending from 2.3% of Britain’s GDP to 2.5% by 2027 and then again to 2.6% in 2028.
Despite Trump’s rosy assessment that a peace deal is nearing, an immediate end does not appear close.
Russia continues to bomb Ukraine’s capital.
Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov threw cold water on the idea of a truce that included European peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine, and Russian officials rejected the idea that they would give back any of the Ukrainian territory that has now been annexed into the Russian state.
