Trump, Starmer to meet in Scotland, with trade and Gaza on agenda
Trump, riding high after announcing a huge trade agreement with the European Union late on Sunday, said he expected Starmer would also be pleased.
"The prime minister of the UK, while he's not involved in this, will be very happy because you know, there's a certain unity that's been brought there, too," Trump said. "He's going to be very happy to see what we did."
Starmer had hoped to negotiate a drop in U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs as part of the discussions, but Trump on Sunday ruled out any changes in the 50% duties for the EU and has said the trade deal with Britain has been "concluded."
The two men are expected to travel from Trump's luxury golf resort in Turnberry, on Scotland's west coast, to a second sprawling estate owned by Trump in the east, near Aberdeen.
Starmer was heading to Scotland from Switzerland, where England on Sunday won the Women's European Championship final.
Casting a shadow over their visit has been the deepening crisis in the war-torn Gaza enclave, where images of starving Palestinians have alarmed the world.
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Starmer has recalled his ministers from their summer recess for a cabinet meeting, a government source said on Sunday, most likely to discuss the situation in Gaza as pressure grows at home and abroad to recognize a Palestinian state.
The British leader on Friday said his country would recognize a Palestinian state only as part of a negotiated peace deal, disappointing many in his Labour Party who want him to follow France in taking swifter action.
Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron's plan to recognize a Palestinian state, an intention that also drew strong condemnation from Israel, after similar moves from Spain, Norway and Ireland last year.
Trump said he understood Starmer wanted to discuss Israel, adding that while the U.S. would increase its aid to Gaza, it wanted others to join the effort. Ukraine will also be on the agenda.
Dozens of Gazans have died of malnutrition in recent weeks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, with aid groups warning of mass hunger among Gaza's 2.2 million people.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, Israel's offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials. It has reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population. REUTERS
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