President Trump hosted Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom at the White House on Thursday, the latest in a series of meetings with European leaders as Mr. Trump pushes for a negotiation to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Mr. Starmer arrived in Washington with a promise, a plea and a coveted invitation: He planned to tell Mr. Trump that his country is willing to send troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping effort once the war ends. But he also intends to urge the American president not to abandon Ukraine to the demands of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. And he personally delivered a letter from King Charles III for a state dinner.
The meeting between the two men began after noon with an exchange of pleasantries that is typical of close allies like the United States and the United Kingdom.
In the Oval Office, Mr. Starmer thanked Mr. Trump for changing the conversation on Ukraine and said he believed a “historic deal” could be achieved to end the fighting. The prime minister also gave Mr. Trump the letter.
After opening it, Mr. Trump called the king “a great, great gentleman.”
But underneath the diplomatic pleasantries, the two men were expected to have some difficult conversations about the future of Ukraine and whether a peace agreement results in concessions to Russia despite its invasion of its neighbor three years ago.
Mr. Starmer was prepared to urge Mr. Trump not to rush into a diplomatic resolution to the conflict without ensuring that Ukraine is given security guarantees that would prevent Russia from invading again in the future.
But White House officials said Thursday morning ahead of the meeting that discussions about a deal regarding Ukraine’s rare-earth minerals — which Mr. Trump has said the United States needs — do not include such guarantees.
A White House national security official said the economic partnership with the Ukrainians does not include any specific guarantee of funding for future war fighting. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting, said the minerals agreement would not commit any American personnel to the region.
That difference was expected to be at the center of the private deliberations between Mr. Starmer and Mr. Trump.
