New Prime Minister Keir Starmer made his first international appearance at a NATO summit in Washington on Wednesday, pledging to continue Britain’s unwavering support for Ukraine and giving his approval for British missiles to strike inside Russia.
Starmer’s clear message of continuity on Ukraine comes at a time when questions are being raised about Kiev’s most important partner, the United States, where presidential contender Donald Trump is looking for a quick deal with Russia.
Days after Labour won a landslide election victory and ousted the Conservative Party, which had been in power for 14 years, Starmer said he had a “very good” meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit.
“I’ve made it absolutely clear that, as far as the UK is concerned, a change of government will make no difference to the support we provide,” Starmer told reporters.
“When we were in opposition, we were united on this issue, and it was very important for me to be able to confirm this face-to-face in the meeting,” Starmer said, speaking to Zelensky by telephone after entering Downing Street.
While travelling to Washington, Starmer said the decision on the use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles was up to the Ukrainian armed forces.
He said Britain’s military aid “is for defensive purposes, but it is up to Ukraine to decide how it uses it for defensive purposes.”
Britain, under three Conservative prime ministers, has been Ukraine’s strongest supporter in the war, and has pushed for more advanced military systems in Kiev and an easing of sanctions.
US President Joe Biden, who has strongly supported Ukraine but has been careful not to start a direct conflict with Russia, recently took a similar step by allowing Ukraine to attack Russian offensive targets across the border with US weapons.
Zelenskyy praised the decision on the Storm Shadow missiles, writing on Telegram: “Thank you for your continued support for Ukraine and our people!”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Russia would take “appropriate measures” in response to Starmer’s decision.
“If this is true, then this is definitely another irresponsible step towards raising tensions and seriously escalating the situation,” Peskov told reporters.
– ‘Clear view’ on Russia –
Starmer will later meet Biden at the White House, and speak to other Western leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Starmer has taken the Labour Party on a more centrist path than his left-wing predecessor and, along with his foreign and defence secretaries, all noted in Washington that Britain helped establish NATO in 1949 under Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee.
Starmer said he hoped the NATO summit would send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the alliance was “bigger than ever, more united than ever, and absolutely clear-eyed about the threat of Russian aggression.”
The 2014 NATO summit in Britain set a target for each ally to contribute at least two percent of GDP to defence, a long-standing demand of the United States.
At the time only the United States, Britain and Greece had reached the target, but since the invasion of Ukraine that number has risen to 23 in a coalition of 32 countries.
Britain’s new Defence Secretary John Healey called on NATO to consider moving towards the 2.5 percent target.
Haley told reporters that growing threats around the world suggest “all NATO countries will need to do more than just two percent.”
He said that whatever the outcome of the US election, Washington’s priorities are “going to shift increasingly to the Indo-Pacific region.”
“European countries in NATO will have to work harder,” Haley said.
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