Trump Accepts Invitation For Second State Visit To UK

Starmer and Trump meet outside White House on Thursday (Alamy)

Meeting with the new US president at the White House on Thursday, Starmer presented Trump with a letter from the King inviting him for a second state visit to the UK.

At a huddle with journalists ahead of a formal meeting, Trump said he would visit the UK in the near future and that he has a "tremendous" relationship with Starmer, who he called a "special guy".

He also called the UK a “special place” and called King Charles as "a great gentleman".

Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said:

• A US minerals deal with Ukraine will deter Russian aggression in the region. He is set to discuss the proposed pact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

• However, he doesn't want to discuss the prospect of US peacekeeping troops in Ukraine "until we have a deal" bringing about peace in the region.

• He couldn't "believe" he recently called Zelensky a dictator.

• He is "inclined" to back the UK's deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, after fierce criticism of the proposal from opposition parties in Westminster.

"We’re going to be discussing many things today," said Trump, sitting alongside Starmer.

"We’ll be discussing Russia, Ukraine, we’ll be discussing trade and lots of other items, and I think we can say that we’re going to be getting along on every one of them."

He added: "We’ve had a tremendous relationship, and frankly, the prime minister and I have met twice before. We get along very famously, as you would say."

Starmer thanked Trump for "changing the conversation on Ukraine", and described Trump's planned second state visit as "unprecedented" and "historic".

"Our countries have been bound together for a very long time now, the closest alliance I think, of any two countries when it comes to prosperity and security," the PM told Trump.

"I know that together we will strengthen that even further and on issues like Ukraine, thank you for changing the conversation to bring about the possibility that now we can have a peace deal.

"We want to work with you to make sure that peace deal is enduring, that it lasts, but it's a deal that goes down as a historic deal that nobody breaches. And we'll work with you to make sure that that absolutely happens."

Starmer's trip to the US followed an announcement on Tuesday that defence spending will increase to 2.5 per cent by 2027. The announcement followed mounting pressure from Labour MPs and the US administration for Europe to play a greater role in its defence. 

Ahead of Starmer's arrival at the White House today, Reuters reported that the Trump administration was "very pleased with UK’s increased defense spending."

Starmer's trip to Washington DC hinges on US efforts to end the war in Ukraine and forms part of a bid to persuade Trump to support Ukraine's security once the war ends. 

So far, the US has excluded Europe — including Ukraine — from negotiations with Russia.

The UK has been coordinating with European allies to ask for a US “backstop” — a security guarantee to safeguard peacekeeping troops in post-war Ukraine. 

On Wednesday night, Starmer said he was concerned that a cease-fire without a backstop "would simply give [Putin] the opportunity to wait and to come again".

Asked by media outside the White House if he thought he could achieve a peace deal in Ukraine, Trump answered "Yes we can."

Starmer is also expected to question Trump on possible tariffs this evening. The US president has already announced a 25 per cent import tax on steel and aluminum imports into the United States, including the UK.

There were also concerns that the UK could be hit with more tariffs after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any nation that charges VAT.

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