By Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, according to a source with knowledge of the matter as foreign leaders scramble for face time with the Republican presidential candidate ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Starmer is set to meet the former president at his Trump Tower property in Manhattan after addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday evening, said the source, who requested anonymity as Trump’s schedule was not public.
Their encounter follows a separate meeting on Wednesday between Trump and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates president widely known as MBZ, the source added.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the embassies of the United Kingdom or the UAE in Washington.
It was not immediately clear what Trump discussed with the UAE’s leader, nor what he planned to discuss with Starmer, both of whom are in the United States during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.
Starmer, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, sharply diverges from Trump on many public policy matters, but he has expressed an interest in getting along with whoever wins the U.S. election.
He met with Democratic President Joe Biden earlier in September, for talks centering on whether to allow Western missiles to be used to hit targets in Russia.
The UAE is an important geopolitical player in the Middle East, and the country has played a role in evacuating the wounded from the Gaza Strip, the scene of an ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants that has devastated the civilian population.
The United States has been concerned about the UAE’s warm relationship with China and has placed restrictions on exports of some American technology to the country. Some congressional leaders have also expressed concern that the UAE has been covertly supporting paramilitary fighters in Sudan, an allegation the UAE denies.
Earlier in the week, the Emirati leader met with President Joe Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate.
Meetings between presidential candidates and foreign leaders have happened during previous elections. In 2016, Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton both met with the leaders of Japan, Egypt and Ukraine during that year’s U.N. General Assembly.
But such encounters are nonetheless sensitive, as the law limits what candidates can say or discuss during such encounters.
The 1799 Logan Act permits Americans outside the government to meet with foreign officials, but it also limits their ability to negotiate U.S. disputes.
Trump has opted against meetings with some foreign leaders in recent days.
He canceled a joint appearance in Pennsylvania with Polish President Andrzej Duda over the weekend, and did not meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he had planned. He is also unlikely to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, despite saying last week the two likely would talk while Ukraine’s leader was in the U.S.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Michelle Nichols; editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis)
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