US President Donald Trump has issued an update on a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

       Speaking at the White House on Thursday, he said a deal “will either be fairly soon or won't be at all."

       The comments came during a press conference with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is in Washington DC to meet the US President.

       It's thought the PM is in the US to push for support for any British forces deployed to keep the peace should a ceasefire pass in Ukraine, but his American counterpart appeared to play down any role by the US.

       Asked what would happen if British forces were attacked, Mr Trump said: "The British people don’t need much help. They can take care of themselves very well."

       During a cordial press conference between the two leaders, one reporter shouted: "Can you get a peace deal done on Ukraine?"

       Mr Trump answered "yes we can" while Sir Keir nodded along. When asked how confident he was, the US President answered: "We can. We will."

       The UK Prime Minister will use his meeting with the US President to push for a "backstop" over Ukraine security.

       Express Political Editor Martyn Brown will be in the Oval Office ahead of the crunch meeting, bringing us all the latest updates live.

       Issues including the future of Ukraine, trade tariffs and the proposed deal on the Chagos Islands – including the joint US-UK Diego Garcia base – are all potential traps for the Prime Minister in his talks with Mr Trump.

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