President Trump said Thursday that he trusted President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia not to violate the terms of a potential peace deal with Ukraine, even as he refused to pledge U.S. military support for a peacekeeping force.
“I think he’ll keep his word,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Putin as he hosted Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, at the White House.
Of Mr. Putin, the president said, “I’ve known him for a long time now.”
Mr. Trump’s comments underscored his embrace of Mr. Putin just a day before Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is scheduled to arrive in Washington to finalize a deal to share revenue from mineral sources with the United States. Mr. Trump has pushed for access to Ukraine’s minerals to make up for billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid the United States has delivered to Ukraine over three years.
In the opening weeks of his presidency, Mr. Trump has ended the diplomatic isolation of Russia, falsely accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and repeatedly disparaged Mr. Zelensky, including by calling him a “dictator.” He appeared to change his tune on Thursday, however, predicting that the two of them would have a good in-person meeting.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Mr. Trump said, although he dodged a question about whether he would apologize to Mr. Zelensky on Friday for the “dictator” comment.
Mr. Starmer was the latest in a series of European leaders to come to Washington hoping to reason with Mr. Trump as he pushes for negotiations with the Russians to end the war. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, visited earlier this week.
“History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” Mr. Starmer said as he stood next to Mr. Trump in the East Room of the White House. The comments were sharper than those by Mr. Macron and other leaders, who have been hesitant to even subtly push back against Mr. Trump when visiting the White House.
“The U.K. is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working closely with our allies,” Mr. Starmer said. “Because that is the only way that peace will last.”
The British prime minister used the visit to deliver a letter from King Charles III inviting Mr. Trump for a state visit, making it the first time an American president has been offered the honor twice. (Queen Elizabeth II hosted Mr. Trump for a state dinner during his first term.)
After opening the letter from the king, Mr. Trump called him “a great, great gentleman.”
But Mr. Starmer’s efforts to nudge Mr. Trump in Ukraine’s direction — even with the promise of a historic state visit — appeared not to have worked. Mr. Trump made no mention of U.S. forces supporting a peacekeeping mission that included British troops.
The prime minister’s attitude toward Mr. Putin could hardly be more different from that of Mr. Trump.
In the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, Mr. Trump was asked what would happen if Britain sent peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, only for Russia to renege on a peace deal. Would the Americans come to the aid of the British in Ukraine if Russia went on the attack again?
In the span of one minute, Mr. Trump seemed to say no (“They can take care of themselves very well”), and then yes (“If they need help, I’ll always be with the British”), before landing back on no (“They don’t need help”).
“Could you take on Russia by yourselves?” Mr. Trump asked Mr. Starmer, with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting nearby. Uneasy laughter broke out in the room. Ukraine has felt the consequences of weak security agreements before: In December 1994, it gave up its Soviet nuclear weapons, which were still controlled from Moscow, and the United States, Britain and Russia agreed to respect the existing borders of Ukraine.
The agreement proved worthless when Russia seized Crimea in 2014. And while the agreement brought the Ukrainians arms and intelligence support in 2022 at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, neither Britain nor the United States provided troops.
Beyond the diplomatic pleasantries of the day, the two men had been expected to have some difficult conversations about Ukraine’s future and whether a peace agreement results in concessions to Russia.
Mr. Starmer was prepared to urge Mr. Trump not to rush into a diplomatic resolution to the conflict without ensuring that Ukraine was given security guarantees that would prevent Russia from invading again.
But White House officials said Thursday morning before the meeting that discussions about the deal on rare-earth minerals — which Mr. Trump has said the United States needs — do not include such guarantees.