Sir Keir Starmer will tell Donald Trump that unless the US provides military support to a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, that Vladimir Putin can’t be trusted to stick to it, saying the US must “backstop” any settlement.
The Prime Minister made the comments ahead of a make-or-break meeting with the President, later today, which is expected to cover a wide range of topics including the Middle East, defence and tariffs.
However, just a few hours before the pair are due to meet, President Trump appeared to dismiss the idea of US involvement in Ukraine saying he would not be making “security guarantees beyond very much”. While his views on the need for European countries to shoulder more of the continents defence burden and for all NATO member to spend more at least 2 per cent of their GDP on defence are well known.
Sir Keir’s Washington visit will be the first time the pair have met since last year when the British Prime Minister tried to reset relations with Mr Trump, following a series of unfortunate comments made by members of the Labour Government prior to the US President’s re-election and perceived support for Vice-President Kamala Harris in November, when around 100 labour staffers supported the democrat presidential candidate.
Foreign policy experts say that today’s Oval Office meeting is hugely significant as the Prime Minister seeks to act as a bridge between the EU and the US and will press the President not to abandon Europe and the post war defence of security settle, that has seen American forces under pin the continents security.
The Prime Minister is expected to point out that this week he announced UK defence spending will rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, with a longer term ambition to see it rise to 3 per cent of GDP by the end of the decade. He is also expected to highlight the growing number of NATO countries now spending 2 per cent of GDP or more (the alliances minimum target) on defence. In 2014 just three NATO members spent the required amount, but last year this had risen to 23 a clear majority.
Speaking to journalists on the plane to Washington, the Prime Minister is reported as saying: “The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Vladimir Putin from coming again.
“My concern is that if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again – because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious, I think, for all to see.”
In addition to the Ukraine and defence spending, it is expected that the Prime Minister will want to talk to the President about his threatened tariffs on imports from Europe, including on cars and manufactured good. Sir Keir will be pressing the case for the UK to be exempted from any additional taxation, while the US President may raise the issue of VAT on US companies in return.
Other controversial topics for discussion include the UK’s proposed hand over of the Chagos Island to Mauritius, in return for a 99-year lease on the military base on Diego Garcia, currently used by the US and the development in London of a Chinese ‘super’ embassy, which some US commentators have warned is a risk to security.
Last night, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, who is in Washington with the Prime Minister, confirmed that the US had an effective veto of the Chagos deal, saying: “If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward”.
While the issue of the Chinese embassy could be embarrassing to the Prime Minister, if the President tell Sir Keir to halt the project as the Government has indicated its support.