Rishi Sunak tackled Joe Biden over cluster bombs for Ukraine when the pair held talks in No10 today.
The US President will send Kyiv batches of the controversial arms to help Ukrainian forces in their war against Russia But, as one of 123 countries signed up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions which bans them, the UK must “discourage” use of the weapons.
America is not a signatory to the pact. Downing Street said the Prime Minister raised the issue when he met Mr Biden this morning.
“When it comes to munitions the first thing to say is this was a difficult choice for the US which has been forced on them by Russia’s war of aggression,” said Mr Sunak’s spokesman. “The UK is a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions so they discussed the commitments the UK has under that Convention, both not to produce or use cluster munitions and to discourage their use.”
The spokesman said: “We standby our obligations under the Convention, which includes discouraging their use. Obviously it is for each country to make a decision and the US is in a different position to the UK with regards to this. President Biden himself has said this was a difficult decision that they have come to.”
No10 admitted there was little hope of changing Mr Biden’s mind over supplying the munitions, adding: “The US are committed to the decision they have taken with regards Ukraine.”
Mr Sunak and the President are due to fly to Lithuania tomorrow for a crunch summit of NATO leaders, where the war in Ukraine - and the regime’s counter-attack, is set to top the agenda. “The Prime Minister and President Biden agreed on the need to strengthen our alliance and maintain our support Ukraine,” said the PM’s spokesman. “They discussed the progress of the counter-offensive and emphasised the importance of the country’s international partners committing to its long-term defence, providing the support Ukraine needs to win this war and secure a just and lasting peace.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to press for a timetable for Ukraine to be allowed into the coalition when he attends the summit in the capital, Vilnius. Under NATO rules, it cannot join while it is fighting a war.
The PM’s spokesman said: “Ukraine’s Defence Minister himself has said they can’t become a member during the war. We agree with that assessment. The PM believes, and has said previously, that Ukraine’s rightful place is within NATO and we want to work with the US and our allies on the pathway for Ukraine to join that alliance.
NATO leaders are also expected to thrash out plans to admit Sweden to the alliance. Stockholm’s bid for membership is currently on ice amid objections from Turkey. The PM’s spokesman said Mr Sunak and the President “agreed on the need to ensure that Sweden has a swift path to full NATO accession”.
