U.K. PM Starmer Leaves Washington Empty-handed After Trump Dodges Ukraine Commitment
US President Donald Trump jokingly put British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the spot when he asked whether the United Kingdom could take on Russia by itself.
“Could you (the UK) take on Russia by yourselves?” Trump asked before both leaders and others in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington burst into laughter.
It was the first time the two leaders had met since Trump took office as US president.
The question followed an awkward interaction in which Trump seemingly gave a vague response when asked whether the US would support British troops if they were attacked by Russia while stationed in post-war Ukraine.
“They (the British) do not need much help. They can take care of themselves very well.
“It sounds like it’s evasive, but it is not evasive. The British have been incredible soldiers, with an incredible military, and they can take care of themselves.
“But if they need help, I will always be with the British, I will always be with them. But they don’t need help,” Trump said.
A clip of the interaction was shared on various news platforms.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that Trump walked back a jibe that the Ukrainian was a dictator, saying: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.”
But on the US security “backstop” that Britain and France want in exchange for deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a deal with Russia to end the war, Trump remained non-committal.
The US president said he was “open to many things” in terms of security guarantees but that he wanted to get a Russia-Ukraine deal in place first.
Trump added that he thought Putin would “keep his word” – rejecting Starmer’s warnings that a ceasefire without a US backstop would let Russia invade Ukraine again.
It made Starmer the second leader in the space of a week to leave Washington empty-handed on Ukraine, after French President Emmanuel Macron also tried to persuade Trump on Monday.
“We have to win the peace,” Starmer said at the joint news conference.
“It can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor.”
But the British premier tried to show that he was willing to step up in Ukraine, as Trump repeatedly urges European nations to contribute more to their continent’s defence.
In a carefully choreographed moment in the Oval Office, Starmer also handed Trump a letter from the king inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit by a US president.
“I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal,” Starmer said.
“This has never happened before,” said Starmer.
“This is truly historic.”
The US president said he was “honoured” and would attend with First Lady Melania Trump.
But on Ukraine, the world will now be carefully watching Trump’s meeting with Zelensky at the White House on Friday.
The two leaders will sign a huge deal giving Washington exclusive access to Ukraine’s rare minerals, which Trump has demanded as payback for US military aid to Kyiv.
“We’ll be dig, dig, digging,” Trump told reporters.
