Rachel Reeves will meet with European Union counterparts in Brussels next week to discuss bolstering support for Ukraine in the lead-up to a second Trump presidency.
Treasury has confirmed the chancellor will attend a meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers, which will include examining ongoing aid for Kyiv as pressure mounts on the UK to boost economic and security ties with Europe to offset the effects of the incoming US administration.
The Brussels meeting comes as questions continue to be asked about the impact of a second Trump presidency on western support for Ukraine after the incoming president said he wanted to end the conflict on “day one” of his term.
The comments have led to fears he will negotiate a deal that would see Ukraine give up land to Russia in what Putin could present as a win.
Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday that Ukraine needed to be put in the “strongest possible position for negotiations”, the first time the prime minister has acknowledged the possibility of a negotiated end to the conflict.
He insisted the UK will back Ukraine “for as long as it takes” as he made a speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has in recent weeks suggested he is open to a possible ceasefire with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Earlier this week, Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged European Nato members to ramp up defence spending ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Ahead of the meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, Mr Lammy also called for Nato to increase military support for Ukraine and step up efforts to deter co-operation between Putin and his allies following the deployment of 10,000 North Korea troops to assist Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking in Brussels, Mr Lammy said Russia’s “hand is in so much of” the rising conflict around the globe. “And that is why, as we meet here discussing these important issues, it’s hugely important that we step up defence spending, across Nato allies particularly,” he said.
US president-elect Trump has been highly critical of European states relying on American funding for their security, accusing European countries of free-riding on America’s promise of protection.
Amid combined fears of Trump applying tariffs to UK goods as well as reducing military support in Europe, the prime minister said on Monday it was “plain wrong” to suggest the UK must choose between its allies, adding: “I reject it utterly.
“(Clement) Attlee did not choose between allies. (Winston) Churchill did not choose. The national interest demands that we work with both.”
