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Trump says he does not think Putin would invade Ukraine again
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Donald Trump has claimed Russian president Vladimir Putin would keep his word on a peace deal struck with Ukraine and said Moscow has been “acting very well” as he met with British prime minister Keir Starmer at the White House.
“I think Russia has been acting very well. … I think we’re very well advanced on the deal, but we have not made a deal yet,” Mr Trump said, adding that he would not talk about the details of peacekeeping until a deal was agreed.
When asked if Mr Putin could be trusted, Mr Trump replied: “Trust and verify”. He also said that a peace deal with Russia would hold and he does not think the Russian leader would invade Ukraine again.
Mr Trump also heaped praise on Volodymyr Zelensky – despite branding him a “dictator” during an unhinged Truth Social rant just last week.
“We’re going to get along really well,” Mr Trump said on Thursday.
“We have a lot of respect, I have a lot of respect for him.“We’ve given them a lot of equipment and a lot of money, but they have fought very bravely, no matter how you figure, they have really fought,” he added.
Prime minister Keir Starmer used a visit to Washington on Thursday to press President Donald Trump not to abandon Ukraine as he looks to find a quick endgame to Russia’s bloody invasion of its neighbour.
The British premier started the visit by delivering an invitation from King Charles III to come to Scotland for a “historic” state visit — noting it was an “unprecedented” honour since Mr Trump already had been given the royal treatment by Queen Elizabeth II during his first term.
“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,” Sir Keir told Mr Trump.
“That is the prize. But we have to get it right.”
Mr Trump said that talks to end the grinding war are “very well advanced” but also cautioned that there is only a narrow window to get a deal done.
“If it doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all,” Mr Trump warned.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday said any eventual peace deal to end Russia’s three-year-old war against Ukraine must not end up providing any sort of windfall for Moscow as he met with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Speaking during a joint press conference alongside Trump in the East Room following a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, Starmer recalled the Anglo-American alliance that brought about victory in Europe to end the Second World War, and said he welcomed what he described as Trump’s “deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the killing” in Ukraine.
“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,” he said.
But Starmer warned that the U.S. and U.K. “have to get it right” when it comes to hammering out terms of any settlement, invoking the British call to “win the peace” after the hard-win victory over Hitler.
“That’s what we must do now, because it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran,” he said, adding later that both he and Trump agree that history “must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader.”
Read the full story here
Donald Trump has said that Vladimir Putin would “keep his word” on a peace deal agreed for Ukraine and backed up the claim by saying that the US workers extracting critical minerals in the country would act as a security guarantee against another invasion from Russia.
“We’ll be working there. We’ll have a lot of people working and so, in that sense, it’s very good. 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,” he said.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said an economic framework agreement with Ukraine was complete, covering critical minerals, oil and gas and infrastructure assets.
Mr Bessent told Fox Business that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky and president Donald Trump would sign the deal today, with no more negotiations on that issue.
“It is a deal on strategic minerals, oil and gas and infrastructure assets. And it’s really a win-win,” Mr Bessent said.
“It shows the American people that there is upside here for them. That we have not squandered the money.”
Prime minister Keir Starmer applauded his push to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine following private talks with US president Donald Trump.
Sir Keir said “it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor”.
“History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” the prime minister told reporters, with Mr Trump by his side.
Sir Keir’s trip, coming a few days after French president Emmanuel Macron’s own visit to Mr Trump, reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Mr Trump’s aggressive push to find an end to the war signals his willingness to concede too much to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Prime minister Keir Starmer applauded his push to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine following private talks with US president Donald Trump.
Sir Keir said “it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor”.
“History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” the prime minister told reporters, with Mr Trump by his side.
Sir Keir’s trip, coming a few days after French president Emmanuel Macron’s own visit to Mr Trump, reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Mr Trump’s aggressive push to find an end to the war signals his willingness to concede too much to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Moscow’s Sheremetevo Airport temporarily suspended arrivals and departures early today to ensure the safe operation of all air traffic, news agencies quoted Russia’s aviation authority as saying.
“To ensure the safety of all civil aviation flights, temporary restrictions were imposed as of 2.41am (2341 GMT) on operations at Sheremetevo Airport,” TASS quoted the authority’s statement as saying.
“The airport is temporarily not allowing arrivals or departures,” it said.
Donald Trump cut off The Independent‘s White House correspondent Andrew Feinberg as he pressed Sir Keir Starmer about the US president’s desire to make Canada the 51st state.
Speaking at the leaders’ joint press conference on Thursday, the UK prime minister was asked about what he thinks of the Republican’s move to annex the country.
Sir Keir responded: “I think you’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist. We’re the closest of nations, and we had very good discussions today.”
The White House later accused Mr Feinberg of “trying to goad the leaders into division” in a statement on X stating that Mr Trump was not cutting off Mr Starmer speaking.
Watch the exchange here
Keir Starmer didn’t barn storm the White House – he barn-owled his way into the Oval Office wisely giving the big bird confidence enough to spread his wings in welcome.
Sir Keir’s title has never mattered so much. He perched on a White House chair upholstered in gold and produced a letter embossed with the Royal crest from his breast pocket. It contained a letter of invitation for a second state visit to the United Kingdom, personally signed by King Charles II.
The royal moniker was painted with a thick black broad nib the 47th president would recognize.
Sam Kiley writes:
Vladimir Putin warned “Western elites” against undermining US-Russia talks ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s successful meeting with Donald Trump on Thursday.
The UK prime minister visited Washington to push the reluctant US president to provide a US “backstop” to prevent the Russian leader from launching a fresh assault on Ukraine after any peace deal.
Trump, who has launched efforts with Russia to find a quick peace deal to end the invasion, has falsely accused Volodymyr Zelensky of being a “dictator” before later publicly backtracking on his words.
Watch the Russian president’s statement here
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