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WASHINGTON — British troops in a post-war Ukraine would be able to “take care of themselves,” Donald Trump said Thursday, as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Washington to try to win security guarantees for Europe.
Ahead of talks between the two leaders, the U.S. president was asked by reporters in the Oval Office whether he would come to the aid of British troops stationed in Ukraine — a possibility floated by Starmer as part of a peacekeeping settlement also sought by France’s Emmanuel Macron — if they are attacked by Russia.
Trump said “if they need help, I’ll always be with the British, okay? But they don’t need help.”
The president added: “The British have incredible soldiers, incredible military and they can take care of themselves.”
It came after U.K. officials said Starmer would use his behind-closed-doors meeting with Trump Thursday to press for a U.S. “backstop,” guaranteeing the security of any British and European peacekeeping troops after a peace deal.
While Britain is not asking Trump to put American boots on the ground in Ukraine, the U.K. planned to ask for aerial intelligence surveillance and support, and at the last resort, air cover, if Putin attacked Ukraine again — as Starmer believes he could.
But Trump suggested a U.S.-Ukrainian deal to extract critical minerals from the war-torn country — expected to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a visit to the White House Friday — would be a backstop in itself.
The president added he thought Putin would “keep his word” and not re-invade Ukraine. Trump added: “I’ve known him for a long time now and I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word … I think the deal’s going to hold.”
On the minerals deal, Trump said: “We are a backstop because we’ll be over there, we’ll be working in the country. That’s a great thing economically for them because … we’re going to have a lot of people over there … so I just don’t think you’re going to have a problem.”
He added: “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.”
U.K. officials have backed the minerals deal for this reason, and had not made not clear exactly how much more Britain was asking for on top of the current U.S. presence in Europe. But Starmer’s administration is looking for a continuation of America’s commitment to NATO.
There is a Catch-22 here: The U.S. wants to know how Europe is going to step up before it commits, and the Europeans want to know that the U.S. will have their back before committing peacekeeping troops. Starmer will host European leaders in the U.K. on Sunday in a bid for further coordination.
‘Special man’
The comments came as Starmer lavished praise on Trump Thursday.
Sat across from the U.S. president in the Oval Office, Starmer — hailed by Trump just minutes before as a “special man” — told Trump: “On issues like Ukraine, thank you for changing the conversation to bring about the possibility that now we can have a peace deal.”
“We want to work with you make sure that peace deal is enduring, that it lasts, that it’s a deal that goes down as an historic deal that nobody breaches,” he added.
To try to smoothe relations, Starmer presented Trump with a personal letter from King Charles III, a rare move from the British monarch, which included an invitation for a state visit.
Eli Stokols and Noah Keate contributed reporting.
