KEIR Starmer has said Britain must “strengthen” its relationship with America – despite Donald Trump berating Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House.
The Prime Minister updated MPs on the war in Ukraine and his diplomatic efforts over the weekend to establish a “coalition of the willing”.
Addressing the shocking clash between the American and Ukrainian leaders on Friday, Starmer insisted the events of the last week and underlined how the “US is vital in securing the peace we all want to see in Ukraine”.
He said that Trump and JD Vance’s dressing down of Zelenskyy (below), which included the Ukrainian president being chided for wearing military gear instead of a suit, was “something nobody in this House wants to see”.
Starmer added: “But I do want to be crystal clear, we must strengthen our relationship with America, for our security, for our technology, for our trade and investment.
"They are and always will be indispensable and 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.”
Starmer told MPs that a summit he convened at Lancaster House in London on Sunday was the first step in establishing a “coalition of the willing”, though he admitted not all attendees were “in the same place on this issue”.
The Prime Minister said that countries which had agreed to back Ukraine in the fight against Russia were now preparing to put “boots on the ground and planes in the sky” in the event a peace deal is struck – though he had added this must have “strong US backing”.
Starmer said it was “right” that European countries committed to do the “heavy lifting” on keeping the pressure on Russia.
Elsewhere, the Prime Minister said that European leaders had agreed to keep military aid flowing to Ukraine and argued that a lasting peace could only be built on the country maintaining its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
He added that military aid would continue to be given to Ukraine to bolster its defences in the event of peace to deter another Russian invasion.
