U.S. President Donald Trump looks on next to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
President Donald Trump indicated that a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine could be close at hand Thursday, during a press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“The Russia situation, I hope we’re going to have some good news for you coming up,” Trump said at Chequers, the prime minister’s weekend residence in Aylesbury, England.
“Millions of people have died in that war, millions of souls … They’re being killed, and I feel I have an obligation to get it settled for that reason,” said Trump.
The president was speaking alongside Starmer at the conclusion of his three-day state visit to the U.K., which has been lauded as a great success by both sides.
On Russia — and its President Vladimir Putin — however, the leaders’ comments were somewhat less effusive.
“He’s let me down. He’s really let me down,” Trump said of Putin.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has carried on relentlessly for over three years, and the U.S. president has so far failed to bring it to an end — despite multiple attempts at negotiations.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump had claimed he could end the conflict in “one day.”
But he admitted Thursday that he’d been surprised by how difficult the war between Russia and Ukraine had been to resolve.
“I’m very honored to tell you that we’ve solved seven wars, seven wars, wars that were unsolvable, wars that couldn’t be negotiated or done,” he said. “The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down.”
‘Special relationship’
In the wide-ranging press conference, Starmer hailed what he called the “unique bond” between the U.K. and U.S.
“We’ve renewed the special relationship for a new era,” Starmer said.
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hold a press conference following their meeting at Chequers, near Aylesbury, Britain, Sept. 18, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
“The United Kingdom, the United States stand together today as first partners on defense, first partners in trade, with the groundbreaking deal we struck in May, and now with a new agreement that we’ve just signed this afternoon, we’re confirming our status as the first partners in science and technology ready to define this century together, just as we did the last.”
Trump echoed the sentiment, describing the bond between the two countries as “like no other anywhere in the world.”
“We’re forever joined, and we are forever friends, and we will always be friends.” He cited this “enduring connection” as the reason that the U.K. in May became the first country in the world to sign a trade deal with the U.S.
With a 10% blanket tariff now applicable to British goods imported into the U.S., Trump has granted the U.K. one of the most favorable tariff rates in the world.
Business deals galore
The president’s trip has also proved a very lucrative one for the U.K. On Thursday, the country’s government announced £150 billion ($204 billion) worth of foreign investment with key agreements across the tech, energy and AI sectors.
The deals would “boost jobs, drive growth and deliver opportunity for working people up and down the country,” the government said.
Trump and Starmer held talks behind closed doors on Thursday, with events moving from Windsor Castle to Chequers for the last day of the president’s state visit.
The leaders and their respective delegations also met business leaders on Thursday at a reception hosted by British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves.
Earlier in the visit, the president and first lady Melania Trump were the guests of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, where they were treated to the best of British pomp and pageantry. The American guests were welcomed with a royal gun salute, a carriage procession through Windsor and a guard of honor.
At a glittering state banquet at Windsor Castle on Wednesday night, Trump told a swathe of guests that included senior royals, top U.S. and British officials and business leaders, that being invited to Britain for an unprecedented second state visit was one of the “highest honors of my life.”
He then raised a few laughs when he joked that he hoped he would be the only president ever to get two state visits.
— CNBC’s Chloe Taylor contributed to this report.
