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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.
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.”
“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.
“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 U.K. is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working closely with our allies, 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.
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.
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