Trump questioned about Zelenskyy 'dictator' comment - and says he will visit UK soon

Donald Trump has questioned whether he ever called President Zelenskyy a "dictator"  - after he was invited by King Charles for an "unprecedented" second state visit to the UK.

Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with a copy of the invitation while the pair met in the Oval Office.

The prime minister and his US counterpart shared warm words as they spoke ahead of a press conference in which they are expected to reveal details of their discussions on the Ukraine war and trade.

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Mr Trump called Sir Keir a "special man" and a "great gentleman" as he said he would be visiting the UK in the "near future".

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office, President Trump said it was a "great honour to have Prime Minister Starmer at the Oval Office".

"It's a very special place, and he's a special man - and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I'm there a lot."

He said the pair would discuss the Russia-Ukraine war, trade, and "lots of other items".

"And I think we can say we are going to be getting along on every one of them," the president added.

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'A backstop, you could say'

Sir Keir also made opening remarks and praised Mr Trump for "changing the conversation" on Ukraine "to bring about the possibility that now we can have a peace deal".

"We want to work with you to make sure that this deal, is enduring, that it lasts, that it's a deal that goes down as a historic deal that nobody breaches," he said.

"And we'll work with you, to make sure that that absolutely happens."

The condition of a US security "backstop" to deter Vladimir Putin from future aggression has been a key demand of the UK and European allies, with the prime minister saying it was the only path to peace in Ukraine.

There had been concern that Mr Trump would stop short of providing the commitment after he said cryptically that he would not "make security guarantees beyond very much".

Later in the exchange, Mr Trump appeared to suggest that a planned deal on minerals with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy would effectively be a security "backstop".

"President Zelenskyy is coming to see me on Friday morning. And we're going be signing really a very important agreement for both sides because it's really going to get us into that country, working there," he said.

He added it was a "backstop, you could say".

However, in an awkward moment, the president spoke warmly of his relationship with Putin, saying he had a "very good relationship" with him as well as Mr Zelenskyy.

And asked why he appeared to trust Putin when Sir Keir did not, Mr Trump replied: "I know a lot of people that you would say no chance that they would ever deceive you, and they are the worst people in the world.

"I know others that you would guarantee they would deceive you, and you know what, they're 100% honourable, so you never know what you're getting.

"No, I have confidence that if we make a deal, it's going to hold."

'We've had free speech for a long time'

There was also some disruption to the positive mood music in the form of US Vice President JD Vance, who challenged the prime minister on what he called "infringements on free speech" in the UK.

Sir Keir issued a swift rebuttal to Mr Vance, saying: "Well, we've had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom and it will last for a very, very long time.

"Certainly, we wouldn't want to reach across US citizens, and we don't, and that's absolutely right - but in relation to free speech in the UK I'm very proud of our history there."

'Did I say that?'

The apparent positive exchange bodes well for the prime minister, who has been seeking to act as a bridge between the US and Europe, who appear to be increasingly at odds over the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Mr Trump stunned Ukraine and European leaders earlier this month when he announced he had called Mr Putin - a pariah on the international stage - to discuss ending the war, without consulting them.

Talks were then held between top US and Russian officials in Saudia Arabia with the aim of restoring ties and setting up negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

A series of controversial statements made by the president - including that Ukraine started the war and that President Zelenskyy was a "dictator" because he had not held elections during the war - also sparked fear that the US would reach a deal with Russia that would have been damaging to Ukraine.

Asked by a journalist to repeat his statement about the Ukrainian president, Mr Trump said: "Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question."

Chagos deal 'doesn't sound bad'

In another positive sign for Sir Keir, the US president appeared to speak approvingly of the contentious Chagos Islands deal, in which the Indian Ocean archipelago would be transferred to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute.

The agreement includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, home to a UK-US military base that plays a crucial role in the region's stability and international security.

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Under the proposed agreement, the UK would lease back Diego Garcia for 99 years at a reported annual cost of around £90m.

Although the Biden administration welcomed the deal as a "win for diplomacy", Mr Trump's White House had expressed reservations about the deal owing to its concerns over China's influence in Mauritius.

The US president was asked whether he agreed with the deal, to which he replied: "Well, we're going to have some discussions about that very soon."

He added: "I think we'll be inclined to go along with your country. We have to be given the details, but it doesn't sound bad."

Mr Trump's invitation from the King would be the second state visit to the UK after former prime minister Theresa May made a similar gesture to Sir Keir in 2017.

(c) Sky News 2025: Trump questioned about Zelenskyy 'dictator' comment - and says he will visit UK soon