The UK is ready "to put boots on the ground and planes in the air" to support peace in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said at a news conference with US President Donald Trump after their meeting at the White House.
"We discussed a plan today to reach a peace that is tough and fair, that Ukraine will help shape, that is backed by strength, to stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin coming back for more," Starmer said on Thursday.
"I'm working closely with other European leaders on this, and I'm clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last," he added.
Starmer said they had "a very productive" discussion.
"Obviously, as the president says, the deal has to come first. But yes, our teams are going to be talking about how we make sure that deal sticks, is lasting and enforced. So our teams will be talking about that," he added.
The UK will host 18 countries on Sunday to further talks on Ukraine, Starmer noted.
Starmer, however, warned that a deal on Ukraine cannot reward the "aggressor."
"We have to win the peace, and that's what we must do now, because it can't be peace that rewards the aggressor...," Starmer said.
"History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader," Starmer added.
TRT World's Jon Brain reporting from Washington, DC said that Starmer appears to have emphasised to Trump that Ukraine needs to be party to any peace agreement "and that it needs to be a just peace as well as a lasting peace."
Trump, speaking before Starmer, said the peace deal needs to be struck soon between Ukraine and Russia or it may not happen "at all."
"I think we've made a lot of progress and I think it's moving along pretty rapidly," Trump said. "It'll either be fairly soon or it won't be at all."
Trump also said he will be signing a historic agreement with Zelenskyy "that will make the United States a major partner in developing Ukraine's minerals and rare earths."
Trump expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin won't press to restart the war if a truce can be reached.
"I think he’ll keep his word," Trump said of Putin. "I’ve spoken to him, I've known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax together."
US-Ukraine minerals deal
Starmer said he would work with Trump on a new economic deal with advanced technology such as artificial intelligence at its core.
"Instead of over regulating these new technologies, we're seizing the opportunities that they offer. So we've decided today to go further to begin work on a new economic deal with advanced technology at its core," Starmer told reporters.
Trump said he thought a deal with Britain could be reached quickly.
At a White House meeting on Friday, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to sign off on a contentious agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine's critical minerals, which are used in the aerospace, defence and nuclear industries.
Zelenskyy had chafed at a deal without specific security guarantees from Washington.
Trump was non-committal about any coming American security guarantees, and underscored that Russia would think twice about attacking Ukraine should the US build an economic footprint in Ukraine to extract critical minerals
"We are a backstop because we'll be over there, we’ll be working in the country," Trump said.
