Trump and Starmer Meet in Scotland to Discuss Trade, Ukraine and Gaza

President Trump on Monday expressed frustration about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, opening a day of talks in Scotland with Britain’s prime minister by saying he was significantly speeding up the deadline for Russia to make peace and indicating disagreement with Israeli officials who have denied that anyone is starving in the war-torn enclave.

Mr. Trump said that he had seen pictures on television of children in Gaza and said they “look very hungry” and that “we have to get the kids fed.” He repeatedly said he wanted to get more food in to the area, but largely blamed Hamas for stealing the aid and selling it — a contention for which the Israeli military has found no proof.

The president also reiterated his frustration with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over the war in Ukraine, and said he had decided to shorten a 50-day deadline he set on July 14. Instead of giving Russia until early September to make peace or face a new round of sanctions, he said Moscow now had 10 or 12 days.

Mr. Trump’s comments on the two conflicts — which have ground on despite his campaign pledges to bring them to a swift end — came during a 75-minute question-and-answer session with reporters in which he slammed windmills, vowed to impose tariffs of about 15 or 20 percent on goods from countries that haven’t reached a trade deal with the United States, bragged about cutting taxes, and again dismissed MAGA demands for the release of the Epstein files as a Democrat-led “hoax.”

Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain were expected to discuss the wars as well as tariffs, a day after Mr. Trump reached a preliminary trade deal with the European Union designed to avoid a costly economic war with America’s biggest trading bloc.

On Israel, Mr. Trump said he did not “particularly” agree with a recent assertion by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there was no starvation in Gaza. But he complained that no one had thanked him for supplying aid to the devastated territory and falsely accused other nations of having given no money to help prevent the humanitarian crisis there.

Just days ago, the Trump administration said it had approved $30 million in funding for a fledgling aid distribution system in Gaza backed by Israel and run mostly by American contractors, which has seen deadly violence erupt near its distribution sites.

But humanitarian groups around the world say the amount of food needs to increase substantially after months in which the Israeli government imposed a near total blockade of food and medicine into Gaza. Mr. Trump on Monday claimed that “no other nation gave money.” In fact, as of January, the European Union had spent about $605 million on aid to Gaza since 2023, according to the European Commission.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer were meeting at Mr. Trump’s golf club in Turnberry and were expected to travel later on Monday to the other side of Scotland for dinner at the president’s other club, in Aberdeen. There, they are expected to resume efforts to resolve a dispute about U.S. tariffs on British steel and aluminum, which remain at 25 percent. In June, Britain and the United States signed an agreement to resolve other trade issues, with the sides saying the deal would benefit both countries.

Here’s what we’re covering:

Trade deal: Mr. Trump announced on Sunday that Europe had agreed to tariffs of 15 percent on automobiles and most other E.U. goods, higher than the 10 percent duty on most British goods that Britain, which is not a member of the European Union, agreed to in May. The 27-nation bloc also agreed to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest $600 billion in the United States, Mr. Trump said.
European reaction: For Europe, surviving in the first year of Mr. Trump’s second term meant reaching an agreement on a trade deal that almost certainly won’t help the continental economy but isn’t as bad as it could have been. Although many details of the deal were yet to be finalized, analysts said that many European companies will be worse off.
Gaza: Mr. Starmer has ratcheted up his criticism of “Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza” and the denial of humanitarian aid. In the face of growing outrage over conditions in the territory, Israel said on Sunday that it was pausing military activity in parts of Gaza to let in more international aid, although it was unclear if the move would allow for enough food to meet Palestinians’ desperate needs.
Ukraine: Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to punish Russia over its escalating attacks in Ukraine, but so far has not followed through. On Monday, Mr. Trump said he was “disappointed” in Mr. Putin for not ending the war, complaining that the Russian leader holds talks then “goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever. You have bodies lying all over the street. And I say that’s not the way to do it.”