Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

The prime minister's appointment with President Donald Trump, a wildly unpredictable showman of very different political hue, could so easily have been awkward, even excruciating.

But it wasn't. As the Downing Street team return to the UK, they are happy with how it went.

For some time senior figures were confident they had built a good rapport with Trump. Of course, they couldn't be certain, because barely anyone ever can be with Trump.

The proposed UK-US deal Trump made mention of is expected to be narrow, with an initial focus at least on the technology sector.

But there does remain considerable uncertainty about the practicalities of a peace plan for Ukraine. The prime minister talked about the importance of "winning the peace" and not merely stopping the fighting.

The UK accepts there is no prospect whatsoever of American troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the government would like the US to provide air cover to protect British and other European peacekeepers.

Trump has argued that the presence of Americans in Ukraine extracting the rare earth minerals expected to be part of the peace deal will be enough to ensure Vladimir Putin thinks twice before attempting further advances.

The security guarantees Ukraine wants will be a key focus at a summit on Sunday hosted by the prime minister in London.

• Chris Mason: Starmer wins Trump over - but Ukraine uncertainty lingers

Image source, Getty Images

During a two-day state visit to Portugal, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Europeans to show themselves "more united and strong than ever", AFP and local media report., external

He warned on Thursday that when it comes to the US, "submission is not the answer", adding that he is "not for happy vassalisation".

He urged Europeans to "rediscover (the) taste for risk, ambition and power", in the face of the unpredictability of Donald Trump, both on the issue of Ukraine and customs duties.

As a reminder, Macron was the first of three leaders to meet Trump this week to discuss the war in Ukraine. During the talks on Monday, Macron spoke about how both countries wanted peace and agreed that Europe needed to take more responsibility for its own security.

Since then, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has met the US president, with discussions ranging from securing peace in Ukraine to the UK's Chagos deal, and today we're expecting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House - which we'll bring you live when the time comes.

Dharshini David
Chief economics correspondent

With the US remaining the UK’s biggest trading partner, enhancing that relationship has clear attractions.

Previous attempts at a post-Brexit deal stalled under the Biden administration as that president had other priorities, and there were also the potential stumbling blocks such as differences in food standards.

The “economic arrangement” hinted at could look very different this time, centred on different areas. That’s not to be sniffed at, almost a quarter of our services exports goes to the US, with financial services and technology playing a key part.

Just like the ambitions, the potential economic gains are unknown - the deal previously mooted may have only added less than 0.2% to our GDP in 15 years. And there were some mini pacts struck under the previous government, such as a vow to tear down trade barriers with individual US states.

But the goal here may be not so much about the gains and reducing tariffs on goods, but avoiding the damage of the extra tariffs President Trump is imposing on the products of many other countries.

Image source, EPA

All this talk of a US-UK trade deal, and how it may mean tariffs aren't necessary for Britain, may have you wondering what tariffs are actually being referred to. Let's take a look.

Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on many of the US' allies, including a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US - which could potentially hit the UK.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has raised 10% tariffs on goods from China and taken steps to hit other imports with duties.

Earlier this month, he ordered 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, America's top two trading partners. But, he suspended the duties before they went into effect until 4 March, to allow for talks on border security.

Trump also hinted at imposing 25% tariffs on goods made in the European Union, claiming the bloc was created to "screw the United States".

The EU has rejected the president's claims, saying the creation of a regional market had made doing business in Europe easier for American firms. And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X yesterday that the EU "wasn’t formed to screw anyone".

Image source, Getty Images

Political consultant and pollster Frank Luntz says Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump "not only got on, but seemed to understand each other" in yesterday's meeting.

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, he says he gives Starmer "tremendous credit" for offering an invitation from the King for Trump to be hosted in a second state visit so quickly into their discussion.

The prime minister did not get everything he wanted, Luntz says, but Starmer was able to save the UK from a "tariff war" with the US.

"They will be coming home to a positive and significant success, but not entirely everything they sought to get in this conversation," he adds.

BBC Political correspondent Damian Grammaticas has taken a look back at Starmer's meeting with Trump at the White House - dissecting everything from the grip of the handshake to the theatre of the UK Prime Minister revealing a letter from the King.

Watch Damian's unpicking of the important moments in the meeting between the two world leaders:

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

On 5 Live Breakfast, Health Secretary Wes Streeting's asked why he opposed President Trump's last state visit to the UK but backs the offer of a new one. He had signed a petition in 2019 calling for the invitation to be rescinded, but now says he thinks "the world has changed".

"I’m sure there will be people this time saying, 'I don’t agree with President Trump and his policies' and the great thing about living in a democracy is that people are free to do that," he says after Trump was invited to visit the UK for a second time as US president.

On the Trump-Starmer meeting yesterday, he says there is "a heavy weight of responsibility on the shoulders of this prime minister to make sure the special relationship is as strong as ever" - and what Keir Starmer has "done successfully is to build a strong friendship based on what we have in common".

In a separate interview, he tells BBC Breakfast Starmer's visit to Washington was "a spectacular success". The caveat, he says, is that the "hard yards are still ahead" on a trade deal and that President Trump is "not a pushover".

As we've been reporting, Donald Trump hinted that the UK may avoid export tariffs from the US, saying there was "a very good chance" of a trade deal "where tariffs wouldn't be necessary".

The head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce - a former Labour MP and minister - tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that businesses will be encouraged by this "important first step".

"In trade negotiations, relationships matter," says William Bain, adding that seeing Starmer and Trump finding common ground on their respective economies and trade is "helpful".

He adds that a deal to keep tariffs low would most benefit automotive and pharmaceutical industries in the UK, noting that yesterday's discussions are an "excellent start".

Kate Whannel
Political reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Let's bring you a bit more now on something Trump and Starmer discussed yesterday - UK-US trade.

The US president said a deal between the two nations could happen "very quickly" and that he envisaged "a real trade deal", which could see the UK avoid the kind of tariffs the president has been threatening on some of the US's other trading partners.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs - import taxes - on many of its allies, including 25% on goods made in the European Union. He also ordered a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US - which could hit the UK.

Asked if Starmer had tried to dissuade the president from ordering tariffs against the UK, Trump said: "He tried. He was working hard I tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there."

In a bid to convince the president against UK tariffs, Starmer said the US-UK trade relationship was "fair, balanced and reciprocal".

• For context: Trump has said he will impose tariffs on many of the US' allies, including a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US. He previously told the BBC the UK was "out of line", but suggested a solution could be "worked out".

Image source, Reuters

In case you missed how UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's first visit to the White House played out, here are the key moments from his meeting with US President Donald Trump:

• Letter from the King: Trump accepted an "unprecedented" invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit, adding that it would be his "honour" to visit the "fantastic country"
• On Ukraine: Speaking to reporters ahead of today's meeting with Zelensky, Trump said he thinks a ceasefire agreement will be agreed "soon" or "won't be at all". He also suggested a minerals deal with Ukraine would deter future Russian attacks on the country - but that deal is yet still to be agreed
• "Did I say that?": Trump walked back on his recent comments referring to the Ukrainian President as a "dictator". When asked by the BBC's Chris Mason about his use of the word to describe Zelensky, he replied: "Did I say that? I can't believe I would say that"
• A "tough negotiator": At the start of their joint news conference, Trump called Starmer "a very tough negotiator", adding that he "earned whatever the hell they pay him over there". On whether the UK Prime Minister had convinced his counterpart not to impose trade tariffs on the UK, Trump added "he tried"
• Chagos Islands deal?: Trump said he was "inclined to go along with" the UK's Chagos Islands deal. During the meeting, Trump said he had a "feeling" the deal was going to "work out very well"

Keir Starmer's US trip was seen as a big moment for the UK prime minister, as he sought to influence Donald Trump's decisions on a range of topics - primarily Ukraine.

We'll take you through their talks, in a nutshell, in our next post.

As is customary on these visits, the day began with a handshake and ended with a news conference.

Here are a few visuals of those moments and some in between:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Tom Bateman
BBC News, State Department correspondent

President Trump has rewritten Washington’s relationship with Ukraine over the last fortnight, starting direct bilateral talks with Russia, and applying intense pressure on Zelensky.

At the White House the Ukrainian leader is likely to sign a framework agreement with Trump that is said to give the US access to future revenues from state-owned mineral and fossil fuel resources in Ukraine, including oil and gas - as part of a jointly controlled fund which in part would help pay for reconstruction.

Trump has said the deal is about the US getting its money back from three years of military assistance to Ukraine.

But crucially it is not believed to offer any US security guarantees, a core demand of Zelensky.

President Trump made clear at the White House yesterday his hurry to reach a ceasefire; but its terms so far remain seemingly unobtainable, with Moscow empowered by the end of its isolation by the US refusing to contemplate any Western forces securing a future truce in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing for any deal to include a firm security guarantee from the US although he said Wednesday that no such guarantee had been offered yet.

Asked by the BBC if he would be prepared to walk away from the agreement if Donald Trump did not offer the guarantees he wanted, Zelensky said: "If we don't get security guarantees, we won't have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing."

Trump repeatedly said that the US would not provide security guarantees "beyond... very much", saying responsibility for this fell to Europe. But he added that the presence of American workers on Ukrainian soil would provide "automatic security".

In a press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday, Trump said he's "open to many things", but that he first wants to get Russia and Ukraine to agree a deal before being drawn on what security measures would be in place to enforce it.

Image source, Getty Images

Key details about the deal Trump and Zelensky are poised to sign today have not yet been made public.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the preliminary agreement envisages the creation of an "investment fund" for Ukraine's reconstruction.

Kyiv and Washington would manage the fund on "equal terms", Shmyhal said, with Ukraine contributing 50% of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil and gas, and the fund would then invest in projects in Ukraine itself.

Zelensky acknowledged the fund but told the BBC it was "too early to talk about money".

The New York Times reported, citing a draft document, that the US would own the maximum amount of the fund allowed under US law, but not necessarily all of it.

The US had initially requested $500bn (£395bn) in mineral wealth from Ukraine, a demand which Kyiv rejected, but this was later dropped, according to recent media reports.

Zelensky has also been pushing for the deal to include a firm security guarantee from the US but Trump yesterday suggested the agreement would itself serve as a backstop.

Image source, Reuters

Welcome back to our live coverage as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington DC, where he arrived late last night.

Zelensky is hoping to gain some kind of security guarantees that would underpin any peace deal that may be negotiated with Russia. He is also expected to sign a deal that will give the US access to Ukraine's rare earth mineral resources.

Trump suggests that US mining in Ukraine would deter future Russian attacks. He also walked back on labelling Zelensky a "dictator", saying he could not believe he said this and describing the Ukrainian leader as "very brave".

Their meeting comes a day after Trump met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. After his talks with the PM, the US president predicted a "very good meeting" with Zelensky later today.

Our correspondents in the US and writers in London will be keeping you up to date with the meeting between the two world leaders - due to take place this afternoon. Stay with us.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

A letter from King Charles immediately set a warm tone to discussions between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump at the White House today, with the pair seemingly heading towards agreements on a number of issues.

Trump joked that Starmer had "worked hard" over lunch to try and convince him not to implement tariffs on the UK, before saying that he envisages a trade deal with the UK without the threat of tariffs attached.

On Ukraine, the US president told reporters that he thinks a ceasefire agreement with Russia will be agreed "soon" or "won't be at all".

Peace in Gaza was also on the agenda, and the pair agreed that a deal for long lasting peace can be the only solution in the region.

Starmer pledged to boost defence spending just before heading across the Atlantic, and he earned praise from Trump for it.

On the Chagos Islands deal, Trump suggested he is "inclined to go along with" it should the UK present a plan to him.

Tomorrow, it's Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's turn to visit the White House.

He's in Washington to sign a minerals deal. Trump appeared to set the tone for friendlier discussions after rowing back on an earlier declaration that Zelensky is a "dictator".

We're closing our coverage for tonight, but we'll be back to cover Zelensky's trip in full. In the meantime, here's some reading to cast your eye over:

• All the key takeaways from Starmer's talks with Trump are detailed here
• Read North America editor Sarah Smith's analysis on today's meeting
• And there's some background on tomorrow's minerals deal meeting in our explainer

A warm meeting between world leaders, but potential for division remainspublished at 23:57 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February

23:57 GMT 27 February

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, Getty Images

It was an extraordinary couple of hours.

The prime minister will leave Washington tonight relieved. His team acknowledged that they had prepared hard for today, but didn't have the faintest idea how it might go.

They do seem to have established an unlikely warmth and connection between the two leaders. There weren't any flashpoints, or excruciating moments that are always possible when you're here with President Trump. And of course there will be that big state visit to come.

On Ukraine though, we see still the potential for division.

The president saying that he thinks that there is already something amounting to a backstop, because there will be an American presence in Ukraine as part of this minerals deal that is due to be signed tomorrow.

But it doesn't look certain yet that Britain and Europe are necessarily convinced that will amount to enough.

Tomorrow's focus is on Ukraine's mineral dealpublished at 23:52 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February

23:52 GMT 27 February

Sarah Smith
North America editor

President Donald Trump seems convinced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is coming here tomorrow in order to sign the minerals deal with the US.

For Ukraine, that is pretty much the price of admission to be able to join the talks.

We know that Zelensky had first tried to insist there would be security guarantees for Ukraine in that agreement, to back up any future ceasefire or peace deal. That is not going to happen.

You heard President Trump say earlier that the simple fact that there is a deal - one that would bring American companies to work and invest in Ukraine - should be a security backstop in itself.

Ukraine will not agree with that, and clearly Keir Starmer doesn't either. That, however, will be a matter for further talks.

The talks tomorrow will focus on looking ahead, beyond this minerals agreement to what a ceasefire or peace deal could look like. On that, Ukraine and the US do remain fairly far apart.

But it marks Zelensky's opportunity, for the first time, to talk to Trump about it face-to-face.

What might be included in an economic deal?published at 23:47 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February

23:47 GMT 27 February

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

No 10 and No 11 will be delighted about these words about a potential trade deal avoiding tariffs.

But I was struck by the use of the term "economic deal" by the prime minister.

That means it's not quite the same kind of deal we were discussing after Brexit - that would have been a free trade agreement - instead, it's about avoiding extra tariffs.

That's a good thing, but it's different to some of what we've been discussing in the past.

And there is a bigger issue here, even if we avoid direct tariffs - and that's still an if - there is still the potential for a globalised tariff war that's still going to affect a global economy like the UK.

When it comes to a trade deal, the devil will be in the detailpublished at 23:37 Greenwich Mean Time 27 February

23:37 GMT 27 February

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

The good news for Keir Starmer is that he emerged from this moment under the microscope able to say he achieved some real positives.

Job one was to start to build a rapport with a president who can be capricious, contemptuous even of those he doesn’t respect, but who has the power to make decisions that are vital to the UK.

There were mutual slaps on the shoulder, lots of talk about shared history and ties, and the theatrical flourish of the letter from the King and a historic invitation for a second state visit.

Flattery works. Job one done.

Job two was to get President Trump to reaffirm that most critical of things, the US commitment to the collective promise Nato countries make to defend each other.

"I support it," Trump said after the men had had their lunch. Job two, reassured - for now.

And President Trump also indicated he’s inclined to think the UK’s deal to secure the airbase on the Chagos Islands is a good thing. That would be a big win for Starmer. It also leaves Nigel Farage looking out of touch. He’s claimed the White House had "outright hostility" to the deal.

But job three is where things get more ambiguous. Trump is happily slapping tariffs on nations left, right and centre. Could Keir Starmer talk his way out of them? "He tried," Trump said. So they could still happen.

Trump talked about a possible "trade deal". But there’s long been talk of that. The devil is in the detail, and what the US might ask the UK to give up. Starmer only spoke about an "economic partnership" based on AI. That’s much more limited.

And finally job four, Ukraine. Here, little has changed. Yes, Trump declined to say again that Ukraine’s President is a dictator. Yes, he praised Ukraine, saying helping defend it was a “worthy thing to do” and he’d try to see it get territory back.

But, and it’s a really big but, Trump thinks he can trust Vladimir Putin. So he won’t provide security guarantees to Ukraine, or even to British troops if they are sent there.

So here, on the issue of the day, the gulf with the UK and Europe is as deep as ever. The letter from the King hasn’t changed that.