Donald Trump begins the news conference with Sir Keir Starmer by describing him as “a very tough negotiator”.
“I’m not sure I like that, but that’s okay,” Trump says as the PM chuckles.
The US president describes Starmer as a “very, very special person”, and says they have “gotten off to an outstanding start”.
He goes on to reference the “special relationship” between the UK and the US that is “like no other”, and says they will “keep it very strong”.
On the letter from King Charles inviting him for a historic second state visit, Trump says it is a “great honour”, and adds: “It’s not for me, it’s for our country. It’s respect for our country. So I just want to thank you. And I want to thank King Charles. And we accept.”
‘We’re working hard to end Ukraine war’
Moving on to the meetings with Starmer today, Trump says they were “tremendously productive”.
He says he “provided the prime minister with an update on our efforts to end the bloody and horrible” Russia-Ukraine war, and mentions his “historic calls with President Putin” that were “very successful”.
“We’re working very hard to get that war brought to an end. I think we’ve made a lot of progress, and I think it’s moving along pretty rapidly,” Trump says.
“The progress toward peace will continue when President Zelenskyy visits the White House,” he continues.
“They’ll be here tomorrow in the early part of the day and we’ll be signing a historic agreement that will make the United States a major partner in developing Ukraine’s minerals and rare earths, and oil and gases.”
‘Great’ for UK to boost defence spending
US taxpayers will be “reimbursed” for their aid to Ukraine, Trump says, and adds helping Ukraine defend itself was “a very worthy thing to do”.
He reiterates his view that peace comes through talking, and says he discussed with Starmer work towards a “very achievable ceasefire” that can “happen quickly”.
Moving on to defence spending, Trump says the war in Ukraine makes the case for “some countries” to invest up to 5% of GDP.
On the UK, he says he read that the UK is raising spending “quite a bit”, which is “a great thing to do”.
Trump also says the UK and US are going to have a “great trade agreement” and adds: “We’re working on that as we speak.”
He wants to get that done “pretty quickly”.