UK PM heads to US hoping to 'bridge' Trump-Europe divide over Ukraine
UK leader Keir Starmer makes a high-stakes visit to the White House on Thursday to try to convince US President Donald Trump to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of any ceasefire agreement with Russia.
The British prime minister will seek to build on French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Washington on Monday, when he warned that peace cannot mean the "surrender" of Ukraine.
But the French leader said his talks with Trump on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine had shown a path forward despite fears of a transatlantic rift.
Starmer in turn will try to perform a diplomatic high-wire act by sticking up for Kyiv without annoying Trump, who has stunned Europe by pursuing talks with President Vladimir Putin's Russian administration.
"Starmer will be very reluctant to publicly critique Trump's stance but he will have to find ways to diplomatically do so, for the sake of Ukraine," said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank.
Top of Starmer's wish list is securing assurances from Trump that the US will provide a so-called backstop, possibly in the form of air cover, intelligence and logistics, to support any European troops sent to Ukraine to monitor a ceasefire.
London and Paris are spearheading proposals to send a European "reassurance force" of fewer than 30,000 soldiers to protect Ukraine in the event the war ends.
- Vital 'backup' -
Macron said Trump had "good reason" to re-engage with Putin, but said it was critical for Washington to offer "backup" for any European peacekeeping force.
Although the Trump administration has ruled out committing US soldiers, Starmer has insisted a US "backstop" is vital to deter Russia from "launching another invasion in just a few years' time".
Starmer will tell his counterpart that Ukraine must be involved in negotiations to end the conflict, after Washington shocked Europe this month by holding discussions with Moscow alone.
The UK premier has already sought to appease Trump by publicly stating his willingness to send British peacekeepers to Ukraine to monitor any truce, while France has pledged the same.
He will also try to convince Trump that European leaders are serious about boosting defence spending, with the US president regularly saying European countries should be paying more towards NATO.
Starmer is under pressure to commit to a timetable for raising defence spending from 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent of GDP and may be tempted to make an announcement this week as an olive branch to Trump.
Unlike other European leaders, Starmer has been at pains to avoid publicly disagreeing with Trump.
That stance has been tested though, notably last week when he rejected Trump's claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a "dictator".
- 'Bridge' -
Trump insists he wants peace and has accused both Macron and Starmer of doing "nothing" to end the Ukraine war over the past three years.
Britain's prime minister hopes to act as a "bridge" between America and Europe, but Trump's unpredictability will make for a nervy meeting in the Oval office.
Their polar opposite personalities may also complicate matters. While Trump is a brash, convention-breaking unilateralist, Starmer is a cautious former human rights leaders who reveres multilateral institutions.
The meeting also comes amid tensions over US steel tariffs and Starmer's controversial decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay to lease a strategic UK-US military base there.
"The biggest risk is that Trump continues to berate Ukraine and Europe and maybe even the UK, embarrassing Starmer and damaging the UK's credibility," Aspinall said.
Kim Darroch, a former UK ambassador to America, said Starmer should play to Trump's ego and insist on the legacy he could have.
"If I were Starmer, I would say to Trump that this is your chance for your place in history," Darroch told BBC Radio last week.
"But it has to be a fair deal. If it's a bad deal, you are not going to get that praise, you are going to get a load of criticism and that will be your record in the history books," he said.
Richard Whitman, a UK foreign policy expert, said he thought the best Starmer could do was "play for time".
"We know that Trump is inconsistent and we know that it's perfectly possible his position on Ukraine might change when he finds it really difficult to get a peace deal out of Putin," he told AFP.
pdh/jkb/js
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
6 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Israel is deporting 6 more activists detained on Gaza aid boat, rights group says
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is deporting six more activists who were detained when it seized an aid boat bound for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, according to the rights group representing them. The six include Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament who Israel had previously barred from entering Israel and the Palestinian territories, citing her support for boycotts of the country. They were among 12 passengers, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aboard the Madleen, a boat that sought to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid. Israel seized the vessel early Monday and deported Thunberg and three others the following day. The last two activists are expected to be deported on Friday, according to Adalah, a local human rights group representing them. It said the activists were subjected to 'mistreatment, punitive measures, and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for some period of time in solitary confinement.' Israeli authorities declined to comment on their treatment. Israel says it treats detainees in a lawful manner and investigates any allegations of abuse. Israel portrayed the voyage as a media spectacle, dubbing it the 'selfie yacht." It says the blockade, which it has imposed in various forms along with Egypt since Hamas seized power in 2007, is needed to prevent the militant group from importing arms. Critics view it as collective punishment of Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said those activists who signed deportation documents would be deported immediately while those who refused would be brought before a judicial authority to authorize their deportation in keeping with Israeli law. The activists have protested that they had no intention of entering Israel and were brought there against their will. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the journey, said it was aimed at protesting Israel's blockade of Gaza and ongoing military campaign there, which experts say has pushed the territory to the brink of famine more than 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war.
San Francisco Chronicle
7 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Most US adults say Trump's military parade is not a good use of money, a new poll finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — As Washington prepares for a military parade this weekend to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, a new survey finds that U.S. adults are more likely to approve than disapprove of President Donald Trump's decision to hold the festivities, which officials have said will cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. But about 6 in 10 Americans also say that Saturday's parade is 'not a good use' of government money, including the vast majority of people, 78%, who neither approve nor disapprove of the parade overall, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults 'somewhat' or 'strongly' approve of the parade, while about 3 in 10 'somewhat' or 'strongly' disapprove. About 3 in 10 neither approve nor disapprove. Carol Sue Quillen, 69, of Live Oak, Florida, said she sees the parade as a way to honor the country's service members, who she said include her late father — an Air Force test pilot killed on a helicopter training mission when she was a baby — and her son-in-law, who serves in the special forces. 'I don't necessarily think we appreciate our military as much as we should,' said Quillen, a retiree who described herself as a Trump supporter — although she said the Republican president's personality 'can be a bit overwhelming.' 'All branches should be celebrated for what they do,' Quillen said. 'That just boosts morale.' Featuring hundreds of military vehicles and aircraft and thousands of soldiers, the celebration on Saturday, which also happens to be Trump's birthday, has grown extensively in scope and size since Army planners started working on a festival two years ago to mark the military branch's anniversary. Besides a military parade — which Trump had unsuccessfully pushed for during his first term — there will also be concerts, fireworks, NFL players, fitness competitions and displays all over the National Mall for daylong festivities. The Army expects as many as 200,000 people could attend and says putting on the celebration will cost an estimated $25 million to $45 million. Most Republicans, around two-thirds, approve of the event, and a similar share sees it as a good use of money, but about one-third say it's not a good use of government funds. Democrats overwhelmingly say the parade is not a good use of public money, as do independents. And while about half of Democrats disapprove of the parade, about half of independents neither approve nor disapprove, suggesting that they may have heard less about it or have less strong feelings about it generally. Matt Wheeler, 40, called the display 'extremely wasteful' and 'a bit of a performance' that 'just sends a bad message' in terms of the overt military display. 'The only other time I can think about this, it's been in old throwbacks to the USSR or things you see out of North Korea,' said Wheeler, who works in nonprofit fundraising in Los Angeles and described himself as a lifelong Democrat. 'It's a direction this administration is inclined to move in that isn't in line with what I thought our country really was.' Sam Walters, 45, who works in restaurants in Fort Worth, Texas, described himself as a former conservative who now has more libertarian leanings. Walters, who voted for Trump in last year's election, said he appreciated that Trump had 'really kind of stuck to his guns' concerning many of the issues on which he campaigned, assessing his second term so far as 'a pretty good job.' But when it comes to the military parade, Walters said he was concerned about why so much additional funding was needed for military-adjacent activities, given the country's overall defense spending price tag. 'When they're getting hundreds of billions a year for funding, more than for anything else, it seems kind of hard to justify them spending extra for that,' Walters said, referencing the parade. Americans are generally divided on whether the government is devoting too much money to the military. About 3 in 10 say the government is spending 'too much' on the military, while a similar share says the government is spending 'too little.' About 4 in 10 say the government is spending 'about the right amount.' Those numbers are largely unchanged from an AP-NORC poll conducted in January. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, which is unchanged from an AP-NORC poll conducted last month. Approval of his handling of immigration, at 46%, continues to be higher than approval of his handling of the economy or trade negotiations with other countries, which both landed at 38%. (The poll was conducted from June 5-9.) Andrew Thomsen, 31, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said that he has voted for Trump in general elections and that he would 'generally approve' of the direction in which the country is headed. Thomsen, who works in education, said that, while he appreciates any intent of the parade and associated events 'to celebrate those who have given of themselves to the service of our protection,' he wasn't a fan of attempts to show off U.S. military might. 'If it is a march of rows and rows of members from our different branches while showboating our tanks, missile systems, and other equipment to show how strong we are, then I don't support that,' he said. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,158 adults was conducted June 5-9, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points. ___
The Hill
7 minutes ago
- The Hill
Air India flight with more than 240 aboard crashes at Ahmedabad
An Air India passenger flight with more than 240 people on board crashed Thursday shortly after taking off in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, according to the airline. The flight, AI171, was headed for England's London Gatwick Airport on a Boeing 787-7 aircraft. Of the 242 passengers and crew members on board, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British nationals, one was a Canadian national and 7 were Portuguese nationals, according to the Air India. Local news outlets showed images of smoke surrounding the crash site, according to The Associated Press, which reported that it appeared to be in a populated area near the airport. Firefighters responded to the crash, dousing the plane and surrounding building with water. Information was not immediately available on fatalities. India's health minister, Jagat Prakash Nadda, said 'many people' had been killed, calling the news 'extremely tragic.' Air India said those injured were taken to the nearest hospitals. 'The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words,' Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social platform X. ' In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected by it.' British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also expressed his sympathies. 'The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating,' he wrote on X. 'I am being kept updated as the situation develops, and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.'
