Trump and Starmer sign US-UK tech deal on AI, nuclear power
President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a new technology partnership on Thursday, and discussed the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, as they met at Starmer’s official country residence north of London.
The two world leaders touted the alliance between the U.S. and United Kingdom as they signed the deal, which includes investments in artificial intelligence and nuclear power.
Starmer said it has the “power to change lives” and Trump hailed his trip across the Atlantic as having secured $350 billion in deals.
Multiple pressing global issues were also on the agenda, among them Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s growing threat to NATO’s eastern flank and the war in Gaza, where Israel’s offensive on Gaza City is expanding.
Starmer and Trump expressed their frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint news conference at Chequers, the prime minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire.
Starmer argued Putin is “not someone who wants peace,” citing recent bombardments by Russia on Ukraine and the violation of Poland’s airspace by Russian drones. The British leader called for greater international pressure on Putin, saying Putin’s only shown an inclination to move toward peace when Trump has used his influence.
Trump said he thought the war would be one of the easiest global conflicts to solve “because of my relationship with President Putin.”
“But he’s let me down,” Trump said. “He’s really let me down.”
Trump didn’t say what steps he would take to pressure Putin, instead calling on European countries to pull back on buying Russian oil — something Starmer said would be a “challenge” but agreed some nations are too reliant upon Russia.
“Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin’s gonna drop out. He’s gonna have no choice. He’s gonna drop out of that war,” Trump said.
On the Israel-Gaza conflict, Trump said he had some “disagreement” with Starmer, particularly on the United Kingdom moving to recognize a Palestinian state.
“One of our few disagreements, actually,” Trump said.
Starmer said he and Trump agreed on the need for a roadmap to peace as he called the situation in Gaza “intolerable.”
Trump focused his remarks on the hostages held by Hamas, saying he wants them released “right now.”
“We have to have the hostages back immediately,” Trump said. “That’s what the people of Israel want. They want them back. And we want the fighting to stop. And it’s going to stop, but a lot of bad things — you know, Hamas, said that they’re going to put the hostages up as bait. They’re going to put the hostages in front of any attack. And that’s pretty brutal. We haven’t heard that one in a long time. So, we have to remember that.”
Trump arrived at Chequers after being hosted overnight by the royal family at Windsor Castle.
He and first lady Melania Trump attended a state banquet at the castle, with other guests including Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
During his remarks at the state banquet, King Charles focused on the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., saying that “our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear.”
The president mentioned a few of the United Kingdom’s most significant historical accomplishments and said the U.K. laid the groundwork for law and liberty. Trump said the bond between America and the United Kingdom is irreplaceable.
“Together, we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are, and we must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world, and we do indeed stand for that,” Trump said.
The Trumps will wrap the historic state visit on Thursday and head back to Washington.