UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday said he does not accept that United States under President Donald Trump was an unreliable ally, but stressed that Europe must continue to fund Ukraine to back it amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Starmer’s remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Friday clash with Trump at the Oval Office, following which he had to cut his Washington visit short.
Responding to whether the US was now an unreliable ally, Starmer during a press conference, said: “Nobody wanted to see what happened last Friday, but I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally.”
“The US has been a reliable ally to the UK for many, many decades, and continues to be. There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries and our defence, our security and intelligence is intertwined in a way no two other countries are,” Reutes quoted him as saying.
He insisted that any peace plan for Ukraine must include the American security guarantees and that the plan being developed currently is based on the idea that “it will have US backing”, AP reported.
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Starmer Says Europe Must Take Responsibility To Defend Itself
The UK Prime Minister also said that Europe must take responsibility to defend itself as world leaders met at the London Summit to discuss working together to stop the Russia-Ukriane war, AP reported.
The summit was hosted by UK to showcase support for Zelenskyy after the Oval Office showdown. Starmer stated that France, Britain, and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire deal to present to the US.
He also pledged to supply arms to back Ukraine’s defence, announcing that UK will provide 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles. UK and Ukraine had also signed a a loan agreement worth £2.26 billion ($2.84 billion, 2.74 billion euros) to support Kyiv’s defence capabilities, which London called a sign of “unwavering and ongoing support for the Ukrainian people”.
Starmer Announces ‘Coalition Of The Willing’
The UK PM also announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end war with Russia. He said that UK, France, and other countries will step up their efforts in “coalition of the willing” and try to involve the US in their support for Ukraine.
“We are at a crossroads in history today,” Keir Starmer said after the London summit where 18 European leaders, including Ukrainian President Zelensky participated. After the summit, Zelenskyy said Ukraine felt “strong support” and that the summit showed “European unity at an extremely high level not seen for a long time”.
UK zlso said that Europe must “do the heavy lifting”, adding that the peace agreement would need US backing and include Russia, but that Moscow should not dictate terms, BBC reported.
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