LONDON, Sep 18: US President Donald Trump has suggested UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer that he could use the military to stop illegal migration.
Addressing a news conference here marking the end of the US president’s second state visit to the UK, Trumpsaid he discussed migration issues with Sir Keir during a meeting at his country residence Chequers.
The US president talked about his policies to secure borders in the US and said the UK faced a similar challengewith migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats,reports BBC.
“You have people coming in and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn’t matter if you call out themilitary, it doesn’t matter what means you use,” Trump said.
In a later interview with Fox News, he urged Sir Keir to take a “strong stand” against immigration, saying it washurting him “badly”.
Speaking during the joint press conference, Trump said illegal immigration “destroys countries from within andwe’re actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country.”
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has stepped up deportations of illegal immigrants andcracked down on unlawful border crossings.
In two days of pomp and pageantry, the US president was hosted at Windsor Castle by King Charles and theRoyal Family, and attended a state banquet on Wednesday before his political talks with the prime minister onThursday.
The President and First Lady Melania Trump departed the UK from Stansted Airport on Air Force One shortlyafter the news conference.
During a wide-ranging Q&A with UK and US journalists, the pair touted the “special relationship” between theUK and the US, and announced a new tech deal.
Trump expressed that it would help the allies “dominate” in the world of artificial intelligence (AI).
However, Trump expressed his “disagreement with the prime minister” on the subject of Palestinian statehood.The prime minister plans to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of next week’s United Nations general assemblyin New York.
Palestine does have some international recognition but has no internationally agreed boundaries, no capital andno army.
Currently 147 of the UN’s 193 member states have recognised Palestine. By joining that list the UK would bemaking a strong political statement, albeit a largely symbolic one.Trump voiced his opposition to such a move and accused Palestinian armed group Hamas of “putting the hostages up asbait” in Gaza.(UNI )
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