There are more tough choices to come on Ukraine and Britain must “lead from the front”, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The prime minister gave a statement in parliament after he unveiled proposals for a “coalition of the willing” to enforce any peace deal in the war-torn country, and announced a plan for Kyiv to use £1.6bn of UK export finance to buy 5,000 more air defence missiles.
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He said the “tough choices that we made last week are not done” and a “lasting peace” in Ukraine “has to be our goal”.
“Britain will lead from the front for the security of our continent, the security of our country, and the security of the British people,” he said.
It follows a hectic week of diplomacy for Sir Keir, during which he held talks with Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday, hosted Ukraine’s president in Downing Street on Saturday and then a wider summit of world leaders on Sunday.
Sandwiched in between his Washington DC trip and busy weekend back home was Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s extraordinary row with the US president in the Oval Office, which cast more doubt on America’s support for Kyiv.
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Sir Keir said the showdown is something “nobody wants to see” but he would not pick a side.
He called America an “indispensable” ally, adding: “We will never choose between either side of the Atlantic
“In fact, if anything, the past week has shown that that idea is totally unserious because while some people may enjoy the simplicity of taking a side, this week has shown with total clarity that the US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine.”
In front of the world’s cameras on Friday, Mr Trump accused the Ukrainian president of “disrespecting” the United States and “gambling with World War Three” after he expressed scepticism that Vladimir Putin could be trusted to honour ceasefire agreements.
It has intensified fears among some Western leaders that the US cannot be relied upon to continue supporting Ukraine, or provide a security guarantee to deter the Russian leader if a peace deal is struck.
After the PM’s statement, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the UK needs to “reduce our dependency on the United States” as he fears President Trump is “not a reliable ally with respect to Russia”.
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However, many other opposition politicians have praised Sir Keir’s diplomacy this week, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch backing the prime minister for “working with allies in Europe and with the United States to bring peace to Ukraine and not a surrender to Russia”.
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Sir Keir has been positioning himself as a peace broker between the US and Europe following Mr Trump’s ascension to the White House and his clear indication he no longer wants to bankroll NATO’s defence.
He has suggested a coalition of European allies could step up and defend a potential deal for Ukraine to “guarantee the peace” and indicated some EU nations could follow in the UK’s footsteps and increase defence spending.
However, he argues that while a security guarantee should be led by Europe, it needs US backing.
Mr Trump has not committed to such a guarantee and previously suggested a minerals deal between the US and Ukraine could act as one.
In response to a question from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Sir Keir told the Commons this would “not be enough on its own”.
In any case, the deal has been put on hold following Mr Trump’s row with the Ukrainian president.
Shortly after the PM finished speaking, Mr Trump hit out at Mr Zelenskyy once again, saying the US would “not put up with him” for much longer after he said the end of the war with Russia is “very far away”.
