U.K.’s Starmer says ending Russia’s war in Ukraine ‘can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor’
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WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday that talks to end Russia’s war with Ukraine are “very well advanced,” but cautioned that there is only a narrow window to get a deal done to end the grinding war.
Trump made the comments as he hosted Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House for talks in which the British premier made his case that American leadership would be crucial to maintaining the peace in Ukraine should the three-year war end.
Trump also expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t press to restart the war if a truce can be reached.
“I think he’ll keep his word,” Trump said of Putin. “I’ve spoken to him; I’ve known him for a long time now.”
“We had to go through the Russian hoax together,” he continued, referring to the FBI and Justice Department special counsel investigation that examined whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign illegally coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of the U.S. election.
Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III found that although the Trump campaign welcomed Russia’s help in the form of the release of hacked emails stolen from Democrats, there was insufficient evidence to prove that the campaign had colluded with Moscow.
While British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was meeting with Zelensky, debris from Russian drones shot down by Ukraine’s air defenses fell in Kyiv.
Starmer’s visit, coming a few days after French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit with Trump, reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Trump’s aggressive push to find an end to the war signals his willingness to concede too much to Putin.
Trump’s rapprochement with Russia has unsettled America’s historic allies in Europe. They have found themselves on their heels over Trump’s return to the White House with a determination to dramatically make over U.S. foreign policy to correspond with his “America First” world view.
The Trump administration held talks last week with Russia without Ukrainian or other European allies represented. And this week, the U.S. refused to sign on to resolutions at the United Nations blaming Russia for the war, which began three years ago when Moscow invaded Ukraine. The drifting White House view of Ukraine under Trump is leading to a tectonic shift in transatlantic relations.
After private talks with Trump, Starmer applauded his push to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but said that “it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor.”
“History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” Starmer told reporters on Thursday, with Trump by his side.
The White House is pushing back on the notion that Trump is ignoring Europe or is too eager in his push for settlement talks with Putin.
The two leaders started their day by participating in a more than two-hour virtual meeting with fellow leaders of the Group of 7 economies.
Trump “hasn’t conceded anything to anyone,” Vice President JD Vance said. “He’s doing the job of a diplomat.”
At a White House meeting scheduled for Friday, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to sign off on a contentious agreement that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine’s critical minerals, which are used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries. Zelensky had chafed at a deal without specific security guarantees from Washington.
Trump was noncommittal about any coming American security guarantees, and underscored that Russia would think twice about attacking Ukraine should the U.S. build an economic footprint in Ukraine to extract critical minerals
“We are a backstop, because we’ll be over there; we’ll be working in the country,” Trump said.
But the president also offered a measure of caution, suggesting that a deal might be at hand but that the window to complete it is narrow.
“If it doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all,” he warned.
If a truce can be reached, Starmer and Macron have agreed to send troops to Ukraine for a potential peacekeeping mission to ensure that fighting between Ukraine and Russia doesn’t flare up again.
The main international group supporting Ukraine’s war effort is set to meet, led by the U.K., as uncertainty surrounds the future of Washington’s support.
But White House officials are skeptical that Britain and France can assemble enough troops from across Europe, at least at this moment, to deploy a credible peacekeeping mission.
Zelensky, while en route to Washington on Thursday, met with Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, who said he told Zelensky that Ireland is open to helping, including sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.
Zelensky and European officials have no illusions about U.S. troops taking part in such a mission. But Starmer and others are trying to make the case that the plan can only work with a U.S. backstop for European forces on the ground — through U.S. aerial intelligence, surveillance and support, as well as rapid-response cover in case of breaches of a truce.
Trump is also looking at the moment as an opportunity to potentially reopen economic relations with Russia after three years of U.S.-led sanctions to punish Moscow for the invasion.
Starmer plans to host a meeting of international leaders in the United Kingdom on Sunday that will focus on Ukraine, and Zelensky is expected to attend. The prime minister also announced plans this week for the U.K. to bolster defense spending, something that should sit well with Trump, who has complained that European allies are spending too little on defense.
European leaders are taking steps to answer assertive U.S. efforts to end Russia’s war against Ukraine
Starmer’s government will increase military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, years earlier than expected, and aim to reach 3% by 2035.
Beyond the war in Ukraine, Starmer said the talks would hone in on “a stable economy, secure borders and national security,” as well as cooperation on artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology. He said he would stress that Europe must “play its part on global defense and step up for the good of collective European security.”
Peter Mandelson, Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., said the two allies should stand “shoulder to shoulder” at “a very, very significant moment for our lives, between our two countries and indeed for all the freedom-loving democracies in the world.”
“We share people, we share cultures, we share a lot of intelligence, we share technologies, and … we also share some of the fighting of our adversaries as well,” Mandelson said.
Starmer extended a state visit invitation to Trump on Thursday on behalf of King Charles, and Trump accepted. The prime minister said the invitation for a second state visit — Trump already received the honor during his first term — was “historic” and “unprecedented.”
Lawless and Madhani write for the Associated Press. AP writers Panagiotis Pylas in London and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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