THE Prime Minister will call on the US President to provide a US security “backstop” to prevent Vladimir Putin launching a fresh assault on Ukraine after any peace deal.
Donald Trump said he would not provide security guarantees “beyond very much”, insisting it was for Europeans to protect Ukraine.
Starmer is prepared to commit British troops to a peacekeeping mission but believes that US promises are vital to “deter Putin from coming again”.
Ahead of his talks at the White House on Thursday, Starmer said Trump can be trusted and understands that Russian President Putin started the war in Ukraine.
The US President has said Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit him on Friday to sign an economic deal that will include US access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.
But the Ukrainian President earlier said that the framework agreement did not yet include the US security guarantees that Kyiv sees as vital.
Zelenskyy is expected to come to the UK at the weekend.
Trump, who has launched efforts with Russia to find a quick peace deal to end the conflict, has called Zelenskyy a “dictator” and suggested he was to blame for starting the war.
But Starmer said it was clear that Russian president Putin was “the aggressor” – and that there were “no issues” with Trump on that.
He told reporters travelling with him to Washington: “They are the aggressor. They have invaded and occupied a sovereign country in Europe, and they bear full responsibility for the conflict.”
Asked if Trump knew that, the Prime Minister said: “Of course, the president has been very clear about the peace that he wants. He’s right about that. We all want peace.
“The question is, how do we make sure it’s a lasting peace. There’s no issue between us on this.”
Setting out his call for US commitments to Ukraine after a peace deal, Starmer said: “The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again.”
While the Prime Minister was flying to Washington, the US president said: “I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that, because we’re talking about Europe as the next-door neighbour.”
Starmer said the offer of British troops to a peacekeeping mission if there is a deal – with the risk of being on the front line if Russia invades again – was “a decision I’ve not taken lightly”.
The Prime Minister will hope the promise to increase defence spending to a 2.5% share of the economy from April 2027 helps persuade Trump that European nations are serious about the security of their continent.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who is also in Washington, told ITV’s Peston: “If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward.
“The reason for that is because we have a shared military and intelligence interest with the United States, and of course they’ve got to be happy with the deal, or there is no deal.”
