Trump is expected to seek a deal to end the war in Ukraine when he takes office next month, and has publicly criticized consensus Western policy on the conflict..reports Asian Lite News
The prime minister told Donald Trump on Wednesday that Western allies must “stand together” on Ukraine. Speaking to the United States president-elect by phone — in their second call since Trump’s thumping November US election win — PM Keir Starmer “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,” per a British readout of the call.
Trump is expected to seek a deal to end the war in Ukraine when he takes office next month, and has publicly criticized consensus Western policy on the conflict — including the green-lighting of Western missiles inside Russian territory.
The UK has long been a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Starmer was among those lobbying the Biden administration to let Ukraine use British-made missiles inside Russia’s borders.
Trump and Starmer talked up their “joint ambition to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the UK and the US,” a No. 10 Downing Street spokesperson said of the call.
Starmer began by congratulating Trump on “his recent team appointments.” The president-elect responded by “warmly recounting” his meeting with the Prince of Wales, Prince William, in Paris earlier this month, No.10 said.
Donald Trump is expected to seek a deal to end the war in Ukraine when he takes office next month, and has publicly criticized consensus Western policy on the conflict. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
In an interview with the Sun newspaper Tuesday, Starmer said he hopes to restart talks with the new US administration on a trade deal — after sitting President Joe Biden put talks on ice two years ago.
In their call, the leaders said they looked forward to seeing one another “at the earliest opportunity.” The UK’s i newspaper reported Wednesday that Starmer could visit the US as early as February.
The two men met for the first time in September for a two-hour dinner in New York, as Starmer and his party pursued a charm offensive with the president-elect and his allies ahead of the US election. Starmer’s call with Trump came as a key political rival, Nigel Farage, talked up his own friendship with Trump and his government efficiency pick Elon Musk, who has repeatedly disparaged Starmer and spoken warmly of Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party.
Meanwhile, Starmer has supported Trump’s call for Nato countries to meet their defence spending targets. Speaking to LBC News, Starmer agreed with the Trump, saying that “Europe needs to do more” on military expenditure.
Trump, who is set to return to the White House in January, has urged European allies to increase their defence budgets, arguing that it’s unfair for the US to bear such a disproportionate share of defence costs. Starmer added that he had been holding “constructive discussions” with Trump on several issues, including military matters.
“As you know I met him a number of weeks ago. I do think that when he says that Europe needs to do more, as a general proposition I think that’s right, and we should do more,” LBC News quoted Starmer as saying.
But he added that there was “a huge amount of capability that we are doing together.” Nato members are required to allocate at least 2% of their GDP to defence spending, yet not all countries meet this target, even amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Portugal, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain all have military expenditures below the 2% threshold. The UK ranks as the ninth-highest spender in proportion to its GDP. Poland leads with 4.1%, followed by the US at around 3.4%, reported LBC News.
In raw terms, the US is the biggest contributor to NATO along with Germany, providing about 16% of the total budget. When asked if everyone should “pay their way,” Keir said he wouldn’t “sit here in an interview and start telling allies what they must do.”
“All of our allied countries make a significant contribution to our collective defence, and if Putin believed his aggression in Ukraine would weaken NATO, he made a major mistake,” LBC News quoted Starmer as saying. Starmer emphasised that Nato is “now stronger” since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have extra members, and we are constantly working together – training together, deployed together. Just up the coast here we’ve got our troops embedded as part of our NATO deployment,” he added.’
He also praised the British military’s efforts, particularly in response to the “constant threat” posed by Russia. “There’s a real appreciation for what our teams are doing as part of that Nato deployment,” he said.
Starmer refused to commit to a 3% defence spending target, saying that the priority is “working collectively.” Instead, he reiterated the government’s pledge to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
This follows a warning from Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, who said the West is unprepared for future threats from Russia. He called on Nato members to adopt a wartime mindset and significantly increase spending.
Rutte described the current security situation as the “worst in my lifetime” and warned that Nato is “not ready” for what’s to come. Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated earlier this month that Labour could not raise defence spending without cuts in other areas.
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