TRANSCRIPT
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer arrived at the White House with a possible diplomatic advantage.
"This is really special"
A letter from King Charles inviting President Donald Trump for a second state visit.
"This has never happened before. This is unprecedented."
Mr Trump's fondness for the British monarch is widely known, and a visit with him is something only the U-K can offer.
It's the latest example of countries pulling out all the stops in their negotiations with the Mr Trump.
Near the top of the agenda was the war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump says he believes peace is close.
"I think we're going to have a very successful peace, and I think it's going to be a long lasting peace. And I think it's going to happen hopefully quickly."
But also:
"If it doesn't happen quickly, it may not happen at all."
He says he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin would keep his word.
"I've known him for a long time now, and I think he will, I don't believe he's going to violate his word. I don't think he'll be back. When we make a deal, I think the deal is going to hold. Now, they're going to have security. You're going to have security. You're going to have soldiers. I know France wants to be there. He's, the president has said he wants to have soldiers there. I don't think we're going to even be necessary. But I don't think there'll be any problem with keeping the deal with the security."
The comments come one day after President Putin met with high-ranking North Korean officials in Moscow, amid reports of more troops being sent to support Russia's war in Ukraine.
U-S officials have also been meeting with Russian diplomats this week to pursue a plan for re-establishing their respective embassies in Moscow and Washington.
President Trump is meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to discuss an economic agreement that's on the verge of being signed with the U-S.
"He's coming, perhaps he's already on his way, and we're going to be signing the deal together, probably in front of the media, and we're going to be having a good conversation."
That conversation will centre on increased U-S access to Ukraine's natural resources, including critical minerals, oil and gas.
A draft framework has been broadly agreed to.
It involves a joint fund into which Ukraine would pay 50 per cent of revenue from future resource exploitation.
The fund would support reconstruction of the war-ravaged nation.
But Mr Zelenskyy says this is not a done deal.
UKRAINIAN THEN ENGLISH VO: "This deal can be a big success, or it can fade away quietly. Much success, I believe, depends on our conversation with President Trump."
The Ukrainian president wants security guarantees.
So do his European allies, including Keir Starmer.
"We've discussed a plan today to reach a peace that is tough and fair, that Ukraine will help shape, that's backed by strength to stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin coming back for more. I'm working closely with other European leaders on this, and I'm clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal - working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last. Mr President, in this new era, you're also right that Europe must step up."
Mr Trump has so far avoided offering any concrete assurance on what the U-S would do to help keep the peace.
He says President Putin told him he would accept peacekeeping troops from NATO countries on the ground in Ukraine, but this has been denied by the Russian leader.
It's also unclear where the deal stands on the issue of retrospective repayments for military aid.
Ahead of his meeting with President Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his stance clear.
UKRAINIAN THEN ENGLISH VO: "The main thing for me was that we are not in debt. And regardless of what and where it sounds in the media, there is no debt of 500 billion, nor 350 billion, nor 100 billion, because it would not be fair to us. As I said before, there were no such agreements before, and therefore there is nothing to talk about from the point of view of this topic. It must be about something new."
President Trump has been campaigning for payback on aid that was offered under Joe Biden.
He says Europe has given less, and will be paid back - something Keir Starmer gently denied while standing alongside Mr Trump.
French President Emmanuel Macron also pushed back on this point at a White House visit this week.
"Just so you understand. Europe is loaning the money to Ukraine, they get their money back. Now, in fact, to be, to be frank. We paid, we paid 60% of the total default, and it was so I like the US, loans guarantee grants and we provided real money, to be clear."
During the meeting with Mr Macron, President Trump was asked whether he still believes that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a dictator, as he said last week.
"Umm. Did I say that? I can't believe I said that. Next question."
One of many questions that may be answered when the two presidents meet.
