UK prime minister dismisses calls to cancel Trump visit after Zelensky meeting

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed calls to cancel President Trump’s invitation for a state visit to the United Kingdom, following the explosive Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.

In an interview on the BBC, Starmer was asked about calls from politicians including Scottish National Party (SNP) first minister John Swinney, who said the state visit invitation should be canceled after Trump accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. support against Russia’s invasion.

"I'm not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake here, we're talking about peace in Europe," Starmer said in the interview.

Starmer said his focus was on finding a resolution between the two leaders to try and refocus on the main focus of finding peace.

"There are a number of different routes people can go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not,” Starmer said, adding that the other route is to “roll up my sleeves” and call the two countries’ presidents and find a path forward.

Starmer also convened a summit of European leaders on Sunday in an effort to shore up support for Ukraine after Friday’s chaotic meeting.

"Because my reaction was we have to bridge this, we have to find a way that we can all work together because in the end we've had three years of bloody conflict now, we need to get to that lasting peace,” Starmer told the BBC.

During Starmer’s visit to the White House on Thursday, the British prime minister delivered Trump an invitation from King Charles for a state visit.

“This is a letter from your majesty, the king. It’s an invitation for a second state visit. This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented,” Starmer said, touching Trump’s shoulder. “This is a very special letter, I think the last state visit was a tremendous success … this is truly historic.”

“The answer is yes,” Trump said in response to Starmer asking if he would take the invite to Windsor Castle. “We look forward to being there and honoring the king and honoring really the country.”

The invite marks the first state visit of Trump’s second term. During his first term, Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II in July 2018 and again during an official state visit in June 2019. The president also went to Buckingham Palace for a NATO summit in December 2019.

Charles became king in 2022, during the Biden administration, following Elizabeth’s death.

Trump has met other members of the royal family since November’s election. He met with Prince William as the president-elect in December in Paris after the two attended the Notre Dame Cathedral’s reopening. After that meeting, Trump said Charles is “fighting very hard” through his cancer diagnosis, in an interview with the New York Post.

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