WASHINGTON – Sir Keir Starmer last night scored a diplomatic victory as Donald Trump agreed to back Ukrainian efforts to win back land from Russia, suggested he would sign off on the UK’s Chagos Islands handover and opened the door to a transatlantic trade deal.
The Prime Minister did not manage to persuade the President to endorse his plan for a US “backstop” that would underpin a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, although Trump signalled he is growing more sympathetic to Volodymyr Zelensky and gave his backing to Nato’s mutual defence clause.
He was also challenged to his face at the White House by JD Vance, the Vice President, who accused the British Government of harming free speech by cracking down on big tech firms.
But overall Starmer’s trip to Washington was privately hailed by aides as a massive success as he managed to dodge any public confrontations with the President.
The Prime Minister opened his first meeting with Trump since the US election by handing over a letter from the King inviting the President to come for a second state visit to Britain.
Trump repaid the favour by saying he was minded to approve a deal to hand control of the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, which the US has an effective veto over because there is an American naval base there.
At a press conference following the end of their meeting, the two men suggested they were on the same page on Trump’s efforts to bring the Ukraine war to an end, which have stirred intense controversy in Europe because of his statements criticising Zelensky and his decision to side with Russia in a crunch United Nations vote.
Starmer said: “We agree history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader. So, the stakes, they couldn’t be higher.
“We’re determined to work together to deliver a good deal. We’ve discussed a plan today to reach a peace that is tough and fair. That Ukraine will help shape. That’s backed by strength to stop Putin coming back for more. I’m working closely with other European leaders on this and I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal.”
The President, who claimed that a peace deal would need to be agreed “fairly soon” or it would fail, added: “If you want peace, you have to talk to both sides, as I discussed with Prime Minister Starmer. The next step we are making is toward a very achievable ceasefire.
“We hope that that can happen quickly, because thousands of young people – in this case we’re not talking about Americans, we’re talking about Ukrainians and Russians – are being killed every week, thousands, and it’s a rough battlefield. It’s a flat piece of land and the bullet only stops when it hits somebody.”
He endorsed Nato’s article 5, which states that an attack on one member state should be considered an attack on all, but insisted it would not need to be activated in order to protect a peacekeeping force in Ukraine. Trump said: “I support it, I don’t think we are going to have any reason for it. I think we are going to have a very successful peace.”
Starmer has been pushing for the US to offer a backstop, likely to involve American air support based in central or eastern Europe, which would discourage Russia from attacking Ukraine again in future.
Trump stopped short of endorsing the idea and suggested it might be unnecessary as a result of a proposed economic deal for the US to exploit Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. Starmer said in response: “I thought we had a very productive discussion. Obviously, as the President says, the deal has to come first. But, yes, our teams are going to be talking about how we make sure that deals sticks, is lasting, and enforced. So, our teams will be talking about that.”
The President will host Zelensky at the White House today and Starmer will hold a meeting with 18 national leaders in London on Sunday to discuss next steps on Ukraine.
On trade, Starmer insisted the US should not impose tariffs on Britain because the countries’ economic relationship is “fair and balanced”. Asked if the Prime Minister had convinced him not to slap levies on the UK, Trump replied: “He tried. He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried.
“I think there’s a very good chance that in the case of these two great, friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary. We’ll see.”
Trump also signalled that the UK and US would have “a great trade agreement, one way or another”.
The US and UK will also begin work on a new economic deal “with advanced technology at its core”, Starmer revealed, citing both countries’ hopes for artificial intelligence and the need not to over-regulate.
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