Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to US president-elect Donald Trump and “reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine,” Downing Street has said.
The two men spoke on Wednesday afternoon, in a conversation that also touched on conflict in the Middle East and the the Prime Minister mentioned need to “work together” to ensure peace.
There have been concerns about whether the US will maintain its level of support for Ukraine when Mr Trump re-enters the White House in January.
The incoming president has said that he wanted to end the conflict on “day one” of his term in office.
A statement released by Number 10 on Wednesday evening said that Sir Keir began the call by “congratulating President-elect Trump on his recent team appointments”.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “Both agreed on their joint ambition to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They looked forward to working together on shared priorities, including international security and delivering economic growth and prosperity.
“Turning to global conflicts, the Prime Minister reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and to ensure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.
“On the Middle East, the Prime Minister underscored the need to work together to ensure peace and security in the region.
“They agreed to keep in touch and looked forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.”
Mr Trump said that he disagreed “very vehemently” with Ukraine firing US-made missiles into Russia in a recent interview with Time magazine, but insisted that he would not abandon Kyiv.
On the Middle East, the incoming president said earlier in December that there would be “hell to pay” if Israeli hostages are not freed before he is sworn into office.
In a post on his Truth Social site, Mr Trump wrote: “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity.”
Earlier this week, Sir Keir said that it would be a “big mistake” if Ukraine’s allies did not continue to give it the “strongest” support.
He urged western allies to not “take our eye off the ball” as the third anniversary of the invasion approaches.
Speaking during a visit to Norway, Sir Keir warned it was time for Kyiv’s allies to “double down” on the financial commitments, sanctions and the training they were providing to Ukraine.
“It’s important that we put Ukraine in the strongest possible position if there are to be negotiations, and even if there aren’t to be negotiations,” he said.
“But it would be a big mistake, in my view, to take our eye off the ball and not ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position, which is why we’ve been doubling down on this at many of the international meetings we’ve had with our allies to discuss this.”
