Ukraine liveblog
Trump doesn't rule out Ukraine 'backstop'
At his press conference with Starmer, Trump did not rule out providing a US military "backstop" for European peacekeepers in Ukraine, after a future peace deal.
When asked by the BBC's Chris Mason whether he "could be persuaded" to provide such a backstop, Trump began by talking about his forthcoming rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine. He suggested that the presence of American workers in country would deter a new Russian attack. "It's a backstop, you could say: I don't think anybody's gonna play around if we're there with a lot of workers."
But a US military backstop is one of Starmer's key demands in the event British troops are deployed to Ukraine.
Trump said he'll "be talking about that today with the Prime Minister," meaning Starmer.
Asked again about the backstop, Trump said, "we are a backstop, because we'll be over there. We'll be working in the country."
When asked by the BBC's Chris Mason whether he "could be persuaded" to provide such a backstop, Trump began by talking about his forthcoming rare earth minerals deal with Ukraine. He suggested that the presence of American workers in country would deter a new Russian attack. "It's a backstop, you could say: I don't think anybody's gonna play around if we're there with a lot of workers."
But a US military backstop is one of Starmer's key demands in the event British troops are deployed to Ukraine.
Trump said he'll "be talking about that today with the Prime Minister," meaning Starmer.
Asked again about the backstop, Trump said, "we are a backstop, because we'll be over there. We'll be working in the country."