LIMITED GUARANTEE — When British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Washington at Blair House — the presidential guest house opposite the White House — he was greeted by a gesture of goodwill: the Union Jack flying outside. The only problem? The flag was upside down. The honest mistake proved emblematic of Starmer’s visit, a well-intended gesture that didn’t exactly accomplish its intended result. The prime minister and the president didn’t make much concrete progress and had little to announce beyond expected platitudes about increased cooperation. Starmer has learned to speak Trump’s language, flattering him and praising the United States enough that Trump appears to have genuine affection for the center-left prime minister. And yet Trump remains unmoved, unwilling to change policy direction on the issue that matters most to Starmer and the rest of Europe — Ukraine. The prime minister arrived in Washington with one essential ask: the inclusion of a security guarantee from the United States in any peace agreement that halts the war in Ukraine. He’ll return home without one. “If there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give [Russian President Vladimir Putin] the opportunity to wait and to come again,” Starmer told reporters aboard his flight to D.C. in advance of the meeting. In Starmer’s ideal world, that “backstop” would come in the form of a pledge that the United States would intervene in some way should Putin invade Ukraine again. But Trump has no inclination to do that, and no sense of allegiance to the traditional alliance with Western Europe. In his transactional view of the world, the mineral deal he plans to sign with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday serves a similarly deterrent purpose. “It’s really going to get us into that country. We'll be working there. We'll have a lot of people working there. And so, in that sense, it’s very good. It’s a backstop, you could say,” he said in the Oval Office this morning. Over the last week, Starmer has put skin into the game. He announced a plan to hike the U.K.’s defense budget. He agreed to put English boots on the ground in Ukraine to protect the peace. And at the White House, he came bearing a big gift for a president impressed by real royalty — an invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit to the United Kingdom, making Trump the first modern political leader to be hosted by Britain for two separate state visits. “This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented,” Starmer said, touching Trump’s shoulder as he did so. And Trump was clearly impressed, calling it a great honor that “has never happened before” multiple times throughout the day. But it wasn’t enough for a change of heart on providing a security guarantee, even after the two leaders and their aides engaged in hours of discussions this afternoon. It wasn’t even enough to move Trump beyond offering banalities and non-sequiturs. “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,” Trump said in response to a question about NATO peacekeeping forces potentially being attacked by Russia. He also noted earlier in the Oval Office that British troops “would be able to take care of themselves,” noting that “I’ll always be with the British … But they don’t need help.” Starmer remained undeterred. “We had a very productive discussion,” he announced. “Our teams are going to be talking about making sure that deal sticks, is lasting and is enforced, so our teams are going to be talking about that.” As is often the case, the most telling statement may have come from an aside that Trump threw away as he introduced Starmer in the afternoon. “Prime Minister Starmer, you’ve been terrific in our discussions,” Trump said with a wry smile. “You’re a very tough negotiator, however. I’m not sure I like that, but that’s ok.” In Trump-speak, “tough negotiator” is a sign of ultimate respect. But as became clear today, it also means the two are still far off on their position towards Ukraine. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh.
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