Trump: 'With Biden talked about Ukraine and the Middle East'. And 'transition will be easy'

"Biden believes in the rules of democracy, he believes in our institutions, he believes in the peaceful transfer of power," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said of Biden's decision to invite Trump.

"You cannot love your country only when you win. You can't love your neighbour only when you agree," Biden had said after the Democrats' defeat in the election. "We should bring the temperature down," he had said. "I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory, assured him that I have directed my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition," Biden had added.

Although Biden intends to use the meeting to show continuity, the transition itself seems partially blocked. Trump's team, which has already announced some cabinet members, has yet to sign agreements to activate the use of office space and government equipment, as well as access to government officials, facilities and information, according to the White House.

"Transition lawyers - of Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance - continue to engage constructively with the Biden-Harris administration's lawyers on all agreements covered by the Presidential Transition Act," said Brian Vance, Trump transition spokesman, referring to the law governing the transfer of power.

Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition at the Partnership for Public Service, a non-profit organisation that advises incoming administrations, said the agreement emphasises that the US has only one president at a time and includes commitments to sign ethics pacts not to profit from information provided during the transition.

"The agreement has to be signed to start the interaction with the federal agencies. The transition depends on this agreement,' he said.

The war in Ukraine and the Middle East were the topics at the centre of the conversation between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, according to an exclusive report to the New York Post by the president-elect. "I asked him for his views and an overview of the situation and he provided them, he was very gracious," he said. "We were both very happy to see each other," the tycoon claimed, speaking to the tabloid and reiterating that "the transition will be smooth." "My team and Biden's team get along very well, we'll be fine," he explained. As for the Oval Office, Trump said, "It's so nice, I can't wait to go back."

US support for Kiev against Russia's invasion is in question after Trump's victory over Harris last week, and Trump promised to end the war quickly without explaining how.