British PM Starmer seeks to project unity with Trump despite differences on Ukraine
white house — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he and President Donald Trump discussed achieving an agreement to end the war between Ukraine and Russia that would involve Kyiv and be backed by European peacekeeping forces. Following meetings Thursday at the White House, Starmer said the plan would “reach a peace that is tough and fair, that Ukraine will help shape, that’s backed by strength to stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin coming back for more.” Any agreement cannot lead to a peace “that rewards the aggressor,” Starmer underscored, mirroring remarks that French President Emmanuel Macron delivered at his White House meeting with Trump on Monday that “the aggressor is Russia.” “We agreed history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” Starmer said, speaking alongside Trump during their joint news conference. Starmer vowed to work closely with other European leaders and said the United Kingdom was ready to deploy peacekeeping troops together with its allies, “because that is the only way that peace will last.” Trump, however, was noncommittal on providing any security guarantees, including on a proposed U.S. “backstop” to support European peacekeepers to enforce a potential truce — a condition Starmer required. “I don’t like to talk about peacekeeping until we have a deal,” Trump said during the news conference. “I like to get things done. I don’t want to give it the bad luck sign.” Trump signaled that the U.S. backstop could be given in the form of the deal he is trying to secure with Kyiv that would allow American access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals and recoup funds given by former President Joe Biden’s administration to support the country’s war efforts. “It’s a backstop, you could say. I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers,” the president told reporters at the Oval Office earlier Thursday. During the news conference, Trump defended his decision to directly negotiate with Russia without the involvement of Kyiv or European allies as “common sense,” saying, “If you want peace, you have to talk to both sides.” Trump said that talks with Moscow were “very well advanced” but cautioned that there was only a narrow window to secure a deal. He expressed confidence that Putin would “keep his word” and not launch further aggression on Ukraine should a peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv be reached. “I’ve known him for … “British PM Starmer seeks to project unity with Trump despite differences on Ukraine “ →