Trump and British Prime Minister Starmer met at the White House despite disagreements over Ukraine

For their first face-to-face meeting since the Republican leader flipped U.S. policy on Ukraine, the Middle East, and international trade, President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet at the White House on Thursday.

After French President Emmanuel Macron visited the White House on Monday for a cordial meeting that revealed sharp disagreements over Russia’s war with Ukraine and the United States’ demand for an immediate ceasefire, Starmer is the second European leader to see Trump this week.

Since taking office on January 20, Trump has startled Europe, a longtime ally of the United States, by claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is a dictator, forging stronger ties with Moscow and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and demanding compensation for U.S. financial assistance to Kyiv.

Zelenskiy is scheduled to visit Washington on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals pact with Trump, which the Ukrainian leader stated would depend on additional U.S. assistance. According to Trump, the agreement is a way to recover US funding that has been used to aid Ukraine.

In order to provide Kyiv a permanent peace rather than a brief respite from bloodshed, Starmer urged the US to offer a security “backstop” for any European forces that participate in a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine on Wednesday.

In addition to signaling that Britain will boost defense expenditure, he is anticipated to attempt to reassure the U.S. president that, should peace talks with Russia be successful, Europe will offer Kyiv security guarantees and assistance.

Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has broken both domestic and foreign policy conventions. He has shook allies by arguing that the United States should possess the Gaza Strip and by threatening to impose trade tariffs on both friends and enemies of the United States.

A two-hour meal at Trump Tower in New York in September marked the beginning of his cordial friendship with Starmer. According to the British leader’s team, the meeting was cordial, with the “gracious host” offering foreign minister David Lammy a second serving of chicken.

At the White House, Starmer is anticipated to continue his charm attack.

He has stated that, under “the right conditions in place” and only in conjunction with other European countries, he is amenable to British troops offering security guarantees to Ukraine.

Like Macron, he would contend that a hasty peace agreement with Russia that excludes Ukraine and other European countries could worsen European instability, which would be detrimental to the United States.

According to commentators, China, which considers democratically run Taiwan to be its own territory, may also take a cue from the outcome of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. When asked on Wednesday if the United States would ever permit China to occupy Taiwan by force, Trump remained silent.