July 28 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland on Monday when the Western leaders are expected to discuss cease-fire plans for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Starmer is to travel to Trump’s golf course in Turnberry where the American president on Sunday announced a new trade deal with the European Union.
According to a statement from 10 Downing Street, Trump and Starmer are to have “wide-ranging” one-on-one talks, including on the implementation of the Economic Prosperity Deal that the pair signed on May 8 and which came into effect last month.
Starmer is also expected to discuss with Trump “what more can be done to secure the cease-fire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long.”
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has sought a cease-fire and hostage-release deal in the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza between Iran-poxy militia Hamas and Israel, but has repeatedly been met with obstacles.
On Thursday, Israel and the United States recalled their negotiators, ending talks with Hamas that had initially sparked optimism that a deal could be reached.
The Trump administration has blamed Hamas for the breakdown, with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, stating the Iran-backed militia’s latest response “clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a cease-fire in Gaza.”
“It’s a shame Hamas has acted in this selfish way,” he said in a statement.
The Trump-Starmer meeting comes amid a deteriorating situation in Gaza where aid agencies are warning of starvation.
Israel has announced a so-called tactical pause to fighting in specific areas to allow the delivery of aid between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., local time, on Sunday.
The announcement came as the Middle Eastern country is coming under mounting international pressure over its war in Gaza and its restrictions on aid entering the territory. According to the Save the Children charity, 133 people, including 87 children, have already died from malnutrition and starvation.
Britain is among 30 nations that are calling for the war in Gaza to end, describing Israel’s aid delivery model as “dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity.”
“We condemn the drip-feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food,” the nations said in the joint statement, which calls on Israel to lift the restrictions on the flow of aid.
“The Israeli government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable. Israel must comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law.”
Britain, France and Germany separately over the weekend issued a statement calling for Israel and Hamas to end the conflict “by reaching an immediate cease-fire.”
Trump and Starmer are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine.
After the meeting, they will have a private engagement in Aberdeen, 10 Downing Street said.
The meeting also comes ahead of Trump being received for a State Visit hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle from Sept. 17 to 19.
It will be Trump’s second State Visit after a previous trip in 2019 where he was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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