UK's Starmer to meet Trump in Washington next week

London [UK], February 18: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet US President Donald Trump next week, Starmer's office in London has confirmed.
A spokesman said Starmer will seek to "deepen the special relationship" on his first visit to Washington, DC since Trump's inauguration.
Asked last week about meeting Starmer, Trump said the two were "going to have a friendly meeting, very good," The UK government has had mixed results in their efforts to garner favour with the new US administration.
Trump's departure from Western allies on its stance on Ukraine and NATO, the looming threat of trade tariffs and the UK's deal to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands have presented potential tensions.
Starmer and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy have reiterated the resilience of the UK-US "special relationship." At last week's Munich Security Conference, US Vice President JD Vance criticized the UK over a legal case in which a former serviceman who silently prayed outside an abortion clinic was convicted of breaching the safe zone around the centre.
In a wider attack on what he suggested is a shift away from democratic values across Europe, Vance claimed the "basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular" are under threat.
Asked about comments made by Vance, the Starmer's spokesman said: "There's going to be a wide range of issues that we'll be working with the new US administration on."
Source: Qatar Tribune