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President Donald Trump of the United States on Thursday said that a minerals deal with Ukraine is the security guarantee Kyiv needs against Russia.

This was as he brushed aside a plea from British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer for a commitment of US military support.

Starmer, who was meeting Trump at the White House for the first time since the US leader took office, turned on the charm, stating that peace in Ukraine had only become possible because of Trump.

The British prime minister also delivered an invitation from King Charles for a future state visit, which Trump accepted.

However, underlying differences between the allies remained, including transatlantic frictions over US-Russia talks aimed at ending the Ukraine war and Trump’s tariff threats.

Before the meeting, Starmer had said there could be no long-term peace in Ukraine without firm US security guarantees, an argument Trump dismissed.

“We are a backstop because we’ll be over there, we’ll be working as a result of the economic partnership. We’re going to have a lot of people over there,” Trump said.