Donald Trump invited for unprecedented second state visit in Starmer charm offensive

Donald Trump has accepted an invitation for an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as the US president declared Ukraine's hopes of joining Nato were "not going to happen".

The invite came as part of a charm offensive from Sir Keir Starmer, who met Mr Trump for crunch talks in Washington on Thursday, seeking to push his US counterpart on the idea of a US “backstop” for any peace deal with Kyiv.

Mr Trump suggested the visit had seen progress on a US-UK trade deal, and also hailed Sir Keir as a “tough negotiator”.

The transatlantic relationship appeared to have come under strain in recent weeks, following Mr Trump’s interventions on Ukraine – including calling Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator – and the threats of tariffs against the EU and steel imports from the UK.

The high-stakes meeting comes amid uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and what guarantees the US could give to maintain a peace deal.

Speaking at a press conference, Sir Keir thanked Mr Trump for his “personal commitment to bring peace” in Ukraine and said the UK is “ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal”.

He said: “We’re focused now on bringing an enduring end to the barbaric war in Ukraine. Mr President, I welcome your deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the killing. You’ve created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal. A deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world. That is the prize. But we have to get it right … it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran.

“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. Working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last.”

On Ukraine, Mr Trump said the US is working towards a “very achievable ceasefire”.

The US President said: “If you want peace, you have to talk 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 added: “This will lay the groundwork for a long-term peace agreement that will return stability to eastern Europe, and hopefully ensure that such a terrible war will never happen on European soil, or for that matter, anywhere again.”

As well as the invitation from the Palace, the US president said he would be visiting the UK in the “near future” as he met the Prime Minister at the White House.

Sir Keir handed Mr Trump a letter from the King as the two were facing cameras in the Oval Office ahead of the more in-depth talks. The move represented seemingly warm relations between the pair, with Mr Trump praising the Labour leader as a “special man”.

Greeting the Prime Minister inside the White House, Mr Trump said it was a “great honour” to have Sir Keir visit.

He said: “Today it’s my privilege to welcome the Prime Minister of a very special place, the United Kingdom, to the White House.

“Prime Minister Starmer, you’ve been terrific in our discussions. You’re a very tough negotiator, however, I’m not sure I like that, but that’s okay.”

Mr Trump also announced the US will be making “some great trade agreements with the UK”.

He said: “We’re going to have a great trade agreement, one way or another.

“We’re going to end up with a very good trade agreement for both countries and we are working on that as we speak.

“The Prime Minister and I have gotten off to an outstanding start. The US and UK have a special relationship, very special, really, like no other passed down through the centuries, and we’re going to keep it that way.”

Mr Trump was also hosted by the late Queen on a state visit during his first term in office in 2019, but precedent for second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

Mr Trump showed the letter marked “private and confidential” and featuring Charles’s signature to the cameras gathered in the White House.

The King suggested that he and Mr Trump could meet before that visit, either at Dumfries House or Balmoral which are near the businessman’s golf courses in Scotland, to discuss the plans for the much grander state visit.

The pair were joined by US Vice President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy | Carl Court/PA Wire

Ukrainian president Mr Zelensky is expected at the White House on Friday to sign a deal that will give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth mineral resources, which Mr Trump has now described as a “backstop”.

He told reporters: “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 and having to do with rare earths and other things which we need for our country.”

The US President also appeared to quash Ukraine's aspiration to join NATO as part of a ceasefire deal with Russia. Mr Trump suggested "that's not going to happen".

One slight clash came during the conversation came when Sir Keir corrected Mr Trump when the President claimed Europe but not the US was getting back some of the cash it has provided to Ukraine.

Mr Trump also claimed he did not remember branding Ukraine’s President a dictator.

Asked about the remark he made in a post on his social media site Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question, please go ahead.”

Mr Trump insisted he had a “very good relationship” with the Ukrainian leader, adding: “It maybe got a little bit testy because we wanted to have a little bit of what the European nations had. You know, they they get their money back by giving money, we don’t get the money back. Biden made a deal. He put in 350 billion dollars and I thought it was a very unfair situation.”

Sir Keir intervened to say: “We’re not getting all of ours. I mean, quite a bit of ours was gifted. It was given. There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted actually.”

French President Emmanuel Macron corrected Mr Trump on the same point during his visit to Washington earlier this week.

Mr Trump also said that he did not think Vladimir Putin would be at risk of invading Ukraine again in the event a peace deal is secured.

The US president also suggested he was considering whether to impose tariffs on the UK, saying he would “take a look” at the situation.

US tariffs on British steel imports are looming and the US President has hinted he could target the UK further. Mr Trump this week said the EU was formed to “screw” the US when it comes to trade and indicated he could impose 25 per cent tariffs on the bloc.

Mr Trump said: “We’re talking about a very different place (UK).

“I have investments there, I own Turnberry, I own Aberdeen, and I own a great place called Doonbeg in Ireland.

“So, I have a great warm spot for your country.”

UK ministers have suggested the UK could avoid US tariffs because America does not have a trade deficit with Britain, while it does have one with the EU.

In the same session in front of the cameras, Mr Trump also said he is “inclined to go along with” the UK’s Chagos Islands deal. The support would be a boost for Sir Keir, who has faced criticism from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch over the issue at multiple PMQs.