The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is at the White House for his first meeting with Donald Trump since the latter was sworn in as the US President in January.
The Briton handed over what he calls a "really special" invitation from King Charles to visit Windsor Castle, which Trump accepted.
According to Trump, the talks with Starmer will concern the Ukraine war, trade, and "several other things".
And I think we can say that we will agree on every issue, he says.
"Very good relationship" with Putin
The President tells journalists on site that they have come a long way with a peace agreement, and that such an agreement must be in place before peacekeeping forces can be deployed in Ukraine.
Creating security in Ukraine is the easy part, the agreement is the hard part, says Trump according to Sky News and thus pushes back against European leaders who see security guarantees as an important part of the ceasefire talks.
Trump also confirms that he and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyj will sign an agreement on rare earth metals when the latter visits the White House on Friday. According to Trump, the agreement itself, which means that Americans will be present in Ukraine, will function as a security mechanism.
Trump does not answer a question about what he will do if Russia's President Vladimir Putin does not follow a potential agreement with Ukraine.
- I think he will keep his word, he says instead.
On another occasion, he says that he has a "very good relationship" with Putin.
Toning down accusation
At the same time, Trump tones down a previous statement where he without grounds called Zelenskyj a "dictator".
Said I that? I can't believe I said that, Trump responds when reporters ask about the statement.
It was last week that Trump went out on his platform Truth Social and called his Ukrainian colleague a "dictator who doesn't hold elections" without evidence.
