Trump invited to UK for state visit as US president calls Starmer ‘a special man’ at White House talks – follow live | Politics

President Trump has declined to repeat his claim that President Zelenskyy is a dictator. The allegation is false, and prompted outrage in Europe when Trump made it, not least because he refuses to use that word to describe President Putin.

Asked if he still thought that, Trump replied:

Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question.

President Trump said that he thought a minerals deal with Ukraine would operate as a “backstop” (see 6.20pm) because Russia would not attack the country if American workers were on the ground working for companies involved in the extraction process. He explained.

President Zelenskyy is coming to see me on Friday, Friday morning, and we’re going to be signing really a very important agreement for both sides, because it’s really going to get us into that country.

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.

PA Media has released extracts from King Charles’ letter to President Trump. Trump displayed the letter for the cameras, and so some of the wording was visible.

In the letter, the king invited the president to meet him in Scotland, either at Dumfries House or Balmoral, which are near Trump’s golf courses, ahead of a former state visit.

The letter, partially obscured by Trump’s hand, says:

I can only say that it would be … pleasure to extend that invitation once again, in the hope that you … some stage be visiting Turnberry and a detour to a relatively near neighbour might not cause you too much inconvenience. An alternative might perhaps be for you to visit Balmoral …

There is much on both estates which I think you might find interesting, and enjoy – particularly as my foundation at Dumfries House provides hospitality skills-training for young people who often end up as staff on your own establishments!

Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom.

As you will know this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content.

In so doing, working together, I know we will further enhance the special relationship between our two countries of which we are both so proud.

The letter was signed: “Yours Most Sincerely, Charles.”

Asked about Andrew Tate and his brother flying to the US, reportedly after the US urged Romania to lift the travel ban that was preventing them from leaving the countrty, Trump reportedly said he “doesn’t know anything about it”. And, according to the BBC, Starmer said he would need to catch up with the story before talking about it.

Donald Trump has claimed that his planned deal with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on minerals would effectively be a security “backstop”. He said:

President Zelenskyy is coming to see me on Friday morning. And we’re going be signing really a very important agreement for both sides because it’s really going to get us into that country, working there.

He added it was “a backstop, you could say”.

Trump is using the term because a “backstop” is the word that some Europeans have been using to describe the security guarantee they want from US to back up a European-led troop contingent, based in Ukraine, that could protect the country in the event of a peace deal.

But, although a minerals deal would notionally give the US some stake in Ukrainian stability, it is not the military backstop that Starmer and other European leaders want. (See 9.32am.)

Donald Trump has indicated he could back Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal, PA reports.

Asked about the topic, Trump said:

We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.

I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.

This might come as a shock to Trump’s friend Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, who for weeks has been saying that figures in the Trump administration are strongly oppposed to the deal.

UPDATE: See 6.52pm for a fuller version of the quote.

Keir Starmer handed Donald Trump a letter from the king, the BBC is reporting. It’s an invitation for a state visit.

Trump has already had one state visit to the UK and there is no precedent for a head of state making a second one. But his first took place when the late queen was on the throne.

When Theresa May visited Trump in the White House after his first inauguration, beating all other leaders through the door, she also came armed with a state visit invitation. That was seen as a bit premature, given that Trump had only just taken office But Downing Street judged that this was a necessary lubricant to relations. Trump is a great fan of royalty, and particularly admired the queen.

UPDATE:

Here is the copy from the White House pool on what happened when Starmer gave the king’s letter to Trump (POTUS – president of the United States).

[Starmer] also brought a letter from King Charles.

POTUS: “Am I supposed to read it right now?”

POTUS opens it and calls Charles “a great great gentleman”

Says “well, that’s really nice” and displayed letter, calling Charles “a beautiful man and a wonderful man.”

This is what Trump said in the Oval Office.

It’s a great honor to have Prime Minister Starmer in the Oval Office. It’s a very special place, and he’s a special man.

And the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well. I’m there a lot, and I’ll be going and we expect to see each other in the near future. We’ll be announcing it.

We’re going to be discussing many things today. 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.

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.

I look forward to it very much. We look forward to the day and the meeting. We’ll be having a luncheon after this, and then another work session, and I believe we’re going to have a press conference at the end.

President Trump and Keir Starmer are in the Oval Office now.

Trump says it is a “great honour” to have Starmer in the oval office.

It’s a special place, and he’s a special man.

He says they will announce a visit by Trump to the UK.

They will be discussing trade, Russia and other issues – and will get on on all of those topics, he says.

They will have lunch, a work session, and then a press conference, he says.

Andrew Roth

Andrew Roth is the Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, based in Washington.

Donald Trump greeted Keir Starmer amicably as the UK prime minister arrived at the White House in a Black Escalade shortly after midday.

The two smiled, exchanged handshakes and clapped each other on the back before turning to reporters.

“President Trump, can you get a peace deal done in Ukraine?” one reporter yelled.

“Yes, we can, we will,” Trump responded, flashing a thumbs up as Starmer stood at his side.

Starmer did not respond to a question as to whether he would get a “backstop”, meaning security guarantees from the US for European peacekeepers in Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.

A reporter asks the president if he can get a peace deal done for Ukraine.

Donald Trump replies: “Yes.”

A reporter asks Keir Starmer if he will get a “backstop” – the term being used for a security guarantee from America, so that it will provide backup support (including airpower and logistics) to a European force on the ground providing ‘tripwire” security for Ukraine.

Starmer chooses not to answer that one.