UK sees Ukraine mineral deal as insufficient US security promise

Donald Trump’s proposed critical minerals deal with Ukraine isn’t enough of a security guarantee in any peace plan to ensure Russia doesn’t strike again, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, in a clear sign that European leaders intend to push the US president to offer a stronger defensive backstop.

Trump’s plan to gain a share off Ukraine’s natural resources to repay American military support remained unsigned after his public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday. The Ukrainian leader angered Trump and Vice President JD Vance when he said he didn’t believe the planned deal would do enough to deter further Russian aggression, a stance Starmer appeared to endorse on Monday.

“The mineral deal is not enough on its own,” the UK prime minister told the House of Commons. He said the US was “vital” to help secure the peace in Ukraine three years after Russia’s invasion.

Starmer’s remarks highlight the tightrope he’s walking in seeking to act as a bridge between Britain’s European allies and the US over Ukraine as Trump’s administration pushes for a peace deal with Russia. European nations led by Britain and France are drawing up their own peace plan for Ukraine which they will present to Trump in the coming weeks. It’s contingent on Trump offering US aerial intelligence, surveillance and air cover as a last resort to assist European peace-keeping troops should they come under attack from Russian forces after any peace deal.

Trump on Monday used a Truth Social post to criticize both Zelenskiy and Europe, accusing the Ukrainian leader of not wanting peace and suggesting Europe was unwise to state that “they cannot do the job without the US.”

Starmer charmed Trump last week in their first meeting since he re-entered the White House, brandishing an invitation for a state visit to the UK from King Charles III. He also spoke twice with the president in two days in the wake of Zelenskiy’s disastrous meeting in the Oval Office with Trump and Vance.

Trump has claimed that the critical-mineral sharing agreement is enough of a security guarantee because of the presence of American workers in Ukraine. But Starmer said Monday that as well as European nations increasing their defense spending, the ongoing backing of the US was necessary.

“We see clearly before us the test of our times, a crossroads in our history,” Starmer told Members of Parliament following a weekend of diplomatic activity in London which put the premier in a firm leadership position on Ukraine and Europe’s future. “Once again we live in an era where peace in Europe depends upon strength and deterrence.”

Starmer also stressed that sanctions on Russia must not be lifted if a cease-fire is reached and added that while other European nations have said they are willing to join a so-called UK-France ‘reassurance force’ of air power and troops in Ukraine to deter Russia from invading again, not all countries are in the “same position” on the issue.

Starmer said the details of the peace plan are still being worked through and “there’s no guarantee of success.” He also said that trans-Atlantic allies need to do more to unlock billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets, a process he described as “complicated.”

(By Ellen Milligan)

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