World War III could break out if the conflict in Ukraine spreads, US President Donald Trump has warned. But in a dramatic joint press conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mr Trump said he believed the threat of a global war had been averted. Speaking to journalists at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat, Mr Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had “let me down” by refusing to end the war.
He continued: “It doesn’t affect the United States, other than unless if you end up in a world war over this thing. You could.” Mr Trump later added: “That’s a war that could have been a third world war and I don’t think we are going to be there now. That was heading to a third world war. And what a shame it is.”
The President said he hoped for “some good news” in his efforts to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Millions of people have died in that war, millions of souls … soldiers are being killed at levels nobody’s seen since the second world war.”
President Trump, in the UK for his state visit, said he thought the Ukraine war would be the “easiest” to resolve but Vladimir Putin had “really let me down”.
He said: “I want to congratulate the United Kingdom on making the vital commitment to spend 5% of GDP on defence at the Nato summit this year. We’ve worked together very closely in so many ways.
“I’m very honoured to tell you that we’ve solved seven wars, seven wars, wars that were unsolvable, wars that couldn’t be negotiated or done, the US has done seven of them.
“The one that I thought would be easiest …because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down.
“He’s really let me down … I thought it might be among the easiest of the group.”
Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK and US are working together to “end the humanitarian catastrophe” in the Middle East and put pressure on Vladimir Putin to get him to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine.
Speaking alongside Donald Trump at Chequers, he said: “We are also united in the pursuit of peace. We are working together to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East, get the aid in, free the hostages and ultimately bring Israel and the region back towards a comprehensive plan which can deliver peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
He added: “We’re also working together to end the killing in Ukraine.
“In recent days, Putin has shown his true face, mounting the biggest attack since the invasion began, with yet more bloodshed, yet more innocents killed, and unprecedented violations of Nato airspace.
“These are not the actions of someone who wants peace. So, we’ve discussed today how we can build our defences further to support Ukraine and decisively increase the pressure on Putin to get him to agree a peace deal that will last.”