Washington, Feb 28 (AP) President Donald Trump said Thursday that talks to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine are “very well advanced" but cautioned that there is only a narrow window to get a deal done to end the grinding war.

Trump made the comments as he hosted Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House for talks in which the British premier made his case that American leadership would be critical to maintaining the peace in Ukraine should the three-year war end.

Trump also expressed confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin won't press to restart the war if a truce can be reached.

“I think he'll keep his word," Trump said of Putin. “I've spoken to him, I've known him for a long time now, we had to go through the Russian hoax together.” The mention of “Russia hoax” is a reference to the FBI and Justice Department special counsel investigation that examined whether Trump's 2016 presidential campaign illegally coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of the U.S. election.

Special counsel Robert Mueller found that although the Trump campaign welcomed Russia's help in the form of the release of hacked emails stolen from Democrats, there was insufficient evidence to prove that the campaign had colluded with Moscow.

Starmer's trip, coming a few days after French President Emmanuel Macron's own visit to Trump, reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Trump's aggressive push to find an end to the war signals his willingness to concede too much to Putin.

Trump's rapprochement with Russia has unsettled America's historic allies in Europe. They have found themselves on their heels with Trump returning to the White House with a determination to dramatically make over U.S. foreign policy to correspond with his “America First” world view.

The Trump administration held talks last week with Russia without Ukrainian or other European allies represented. And this week, the U.S. refused to sign on to resolutions at the United Nations blaming Russia for the war, which began three years ago when Moscow invaded. The drifting White House view of Ukraine under Trump is leading to a tectonic shift in transatlantic relations.

Starmer on Thursday following private talks with Trump applauded his push to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but said that “it can't be peace that rewards the aggressor.” “History must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader,” Starmer told reporters, with Trump by his side.

The White House is pushing back on the notion that Trump is ignoring Europe or is too eager in his push for settlement talks with Putin.

“He hasn't conceded anything to anyone,” Vice President JD Vance said. “He's doing the job of a diplomat.” At a White House meeting Friday, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to sign off on a contentious agreement that would give the U.S. access to Ukraine's critical minerals, which are used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries. Zelenskyy had chafed at a deal without specific security guarantees from Washington.

Trump was noncommittal about any coming American security guarantees, and underscored that Russia would think twice about attacking Ukraine should the U.S. build an economic footprint in Ukraine to extract critical minerals “We are a backstop because we'll be over there, we'll be working in the country,” Trump said.

But Trump also offered a measure of caution, suggesting that a deal might be at hand but the window to complete it is narrow.

“If it doesn't happen quickly, it may not happen at all," Trump warned.

If a truce can be reached, Starmer and Macron have agreed to send troops for a potential peacekeeping mission to Ukraine to ensure that fighting between Ukraine and Russia doesn't flare up again.

But White House officials are skeptical that Britain and France can assemble enough troops from across Europe, at least at this moment, to deploy a credible peacekeeping mission to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy, while en route to Washington, met on Thursday with Ireland's prime minister, Micheál Martin, who said he told Zelenskyy that Ireland is open to helping, including sending peacekeepers to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy and European officials have no illusions about U.S. troops taking part in such a mission. But Starmer and others are trying to make the case that the plan can only work with a U.S. backstop for European forces on the ground — through U.S. aerial intelligence, surveillance and support, as well as rapid-response cover in case of breaches of a truce.

Trump is also looking at the moment as an opportunity to potentially reopen economic relations with Russia after three years of U.S.-led sanctions to punish Moscow for the invasion.

Starmer is hosting a Sunday meeting in the United Kingdom of international leaders that will focus on Ukraine, and Zelenskyy is expected to attend. The prime minister also announced plans this week for the U.K. to bolster defense spending, something that should sit well with Trump, who has been critical that European allies are spending too little on defense.

Starmer's government will increase military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, years earlier than expected, and aim to reach 3% by 2035.

Beyond the war in Ukraine, Starmer said the talks would home in on “a stable economy, secure borders and national security,” as well as cooperation on AI and other cutting-edge technology. He would stress that Europe must “play its part on global defense and step up for the good of collective European security.” Peter Mandelson, Britain's ambassador to the U.S., said the two allies should stand “shoulder to shoulder” at “a very, very significant moment for our lives, between our two countries and indeed for all the freedom-loving democracies in the world.” “We share people, we share cultures, we share a lot of intelligence, we share technologies, and … we also share some of the fighting of our adversaries as well,” Mandelson said. (AP) NB NB