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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Trump's private Scotland visit poses diplomatic test for UK's Starmer
By Alex Wickham, Ellen Milligan and Freya Jones Donald Trump arrived in Scotland on Friday evening for a private five-day visit of his mother's ancestral home, taking in two golf resorts he owns. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer knows full well that when it comes to this US president, little is ever really private. Trump's first trip to Britain since his reelection will see him travel to his estates at Turnberry on Scotland's picturesque west coast and Menie in Aberdeenshire. It comes only weeks before he crosses the Atlantic again on an official state visit to meet King Charles III in September. For Starmer, who will meet Trump in Scotland, it's not without its risks. The two leaders have struck up an unlikely partnership this year, with Trump repeatedly commenting on their positive working relationship in spite of the premier's left-wing politics: 'for some reason, we get along,' he said alongside Starmer at the Group of Seven summit in Canada last month. That relationship saw the UK land a relatively favorable deal on some US tariff measures compared to other nations, while the president has also moved slightly closer to London's view of the Russia-Ukraine war in recent weeks. 'I like your prime minister, who's slightly more liberal than I am, as you've probably heard, but he's a good man,' Trump told reporters upon arriving in Scotland on Friday. 'He got a trade deal done, and you know, they've been working on this deal for 12 years. He got it done. It's a good deal. It's a good deal for the UK.' British officials are hoping they can navigate a series of potential pitfalls over the coming days to keep that delicate relationship intact. 'It's a difficult tightrope for Starmer to walk,' said Michael Martins, former political and economic specialist at the US Embassy in London and associate fellow at British Foreign Policy Group. 'No opportunity with President Trump comes without risk.' Trump heads overseas at a moment when he is under siege from many of his own political allies at home over his administration's handling of documents related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. He's also waging a two-front fight with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates and renovation of the central bank's headquarters, as well as with international trading partners ahead of his Aug. 1 tariff deadline. It is awkward for Starmer, a politician who prides himself on being a stickler for the rules and was elected to office last year on a promise to restore propriety to British politics, that he will take part in a visit that will publicize two of Trump's golf courses. For Trump, the visit is one of the starkest examples yet of his mixing of personal business with official duties. He's expected to attend the inauguration of a new course at his Aberdeen property, according to UK media reports. 'We're going to have, I believe, dinner at Turnberry with the prime minister,' Trump told reporters before departing the US. 'Then we're going to go to the oil capital of Europe, which is Aberdeen, and we're going to have lunches there. We're going to have a good time.' The White House has not said specifically if Trump will play golf. Adding to potential pitfalls for Starmer is Trump's desire to see Turnberry host the Open championship, the world's oldest major golf tournament. That should in theory be a decision that is free from political interference, and yet British government officials have been quietly trying to make it happen, only to so far be rebuffed by the championship's organizers, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke anonymously about closed-door conversations. 'I think they'll do that,' Trump said when asked about bringing the Open to Turnberry. In Scotland, Trump dismissed concerns that the remote course would need to see significant infrastructure improvements to help with the large crowds certain to flock to the event. He noted the course had already been wired for television broadcasts and batted away questions about roads and train stations with a curt: 'I don't know what you can do.' 'All I can tell you is that it would be the best place anywhere in your country to have — there's no place like it,' Trump said. Official government readouts of conversations between Trump and Starmer often cite the leaders discussing world affairs, but in reality they are often more meandering, as the president opines about various personal interests and pet peeves, British officials said. They include Trump's dislike of wind farms off the coast of his golf courses. 'You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds,' Trump said. 'And if they're stuck in the ocean, ruining your oceans — stop the windmills.' He also described Aberdeen, where he's expected to inaugurate a new golf course, as 'the oil capital of Europe.' Of more immediate concern to the UK is its ongoing effort to persuade the Trump administration to modify the domestic-production requirements that are holding up a trade agreement to lower US tariffs on British steel. Trump said earlier this month he would 'refine' the deal he struck with Starmer earlier this year. The prime minister isn't quite so confident, downplaying the prospects of a breakthrough in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. Asked if there was wiggle room on steel, Trump told reporters: 'not a lot, because if I do it for one, I have to do it for all.' That aside, Starmer's aides are nervously awaiting other more typical dangers such as the possibility of anti-Trump protests in a country where the president has little popular support. When he visited London during his first term in 2018, an unflattering blimp depicting Trump as a giant baby was famously flown over the capital. UK officials might prefer to take a safety-first approach and limit media access but are alive to the reality that Trump could easily choose to hold court with reporters without warning. For Starmer, who is not a golfer, perhaps the worst outcome of all would be the president challenging him to a round in front of the cameras. If such a nightmare scenario arose, the premier would likely politely suggest a game of five-a-side football instead, and try to convince Trump to don the shirt of the Arsenal team he follows, a person familiar with Starmer's thinking said.
Sky News AU
15-06-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Australia warned it could 'never replicate' at risk AUKUS deal as Anthony Albanese prepares for crucial talks with Donald Trump
A foreign policy expert has warned Australia and the United Kingdom could "never replicate" AUKUS without support from the United States ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's crucial meeting with President Donald Trump. Concerns about President Trump's approach to AUKUS were raised to new heights following the announcement last week his administration was launching a review into the the trilateral pact. Set to be led by AUKUS sceptic Elbridge Colby, the review has stoked fears the US could walk away from the agreement in what would come as a huge blow to Australia's defence and strategic plan. Mr Albanese is now facing significant pressure to convince President Trump of AUKUS' value, with many analysts expecting the US leader will pressure his Australian counterpart on defence spending when the two meet on the sidelines of the G7 on Wednesday. British Foreign Policy Group senior research and programs manager Eliza Keogh warned there was a "real possibility" President Trump would pull out of the pact, with the Australian and UK governments now jointly scrambling to keep the deal alive. "AUKUS offers clear strategic advantages for the US - from regional proximity to China, to access to Australian facilities for docking and servicing - and there is a possibility the review could just be the Trump administration increasing pressure on Australia to boost its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP," she told "Nevertheless, there is a real possibility the US could withdraw from AUKUS, particularly with AUKUS sceptic Elbridge Colby leading the review. "The Trump administration's tendency to prioritise short-term political calculations over strategic foresight means that it may opt to withdraw from AUKUS, despite its long-term focus on countering the rise of China, as short term interests - predominantly keeping US-built submarines at home - will win out." Several analysts and observers have highlighted flagging US submarine manufacturing as a potential dealbreaker, with the nation at risk of missing its goal to increase the size of its fleet to 66 vessels by 2049. Debate over the provision of Virginia class submarines to Australia - a stop-gap measure to ensure Australia remains well equipped while AUKUS vessels are constructed - has raged for almost two years and has drawn scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans. Some have suggested President Trump may demand Australia increase the $3 billion it will send to the US to help offset production costs for the submarines in order to ensure the deal remains on tract, although Mr Albanese ruled out that possibility in 2023 and appears unlikely to change course. Instead, the Prime Minister is expected to emphasise the in-kind benefits AUKUS provides the US during his sit down with President Trump, while also pointing to Labor's $57 billion boost to defence spending over the next decade. According to Ms Keogh, highlighting Australia's role in deterring Chinese ambitions in the Indo-Pacific is likely to be another effective tactic given the US' desire to see "partners stepping up in the region". She also offered a more radical solution, which, while likely to appease President Trump, could also leave Australia dependent on the US until the first AUKUS vessels come online in the 2030s. "If they are looking to placate Trump, UK and Australian negotiators could look to renegotiate parts of the deal, including offering to loan submarines back to the US if necessary," Ms Keogh said. It remains to be seen what, if any concessions, Mr Albanese makes to the US President, but the foreign policy expert warned it would be impossible to replace AUKUS should Australia and the UK fail to maintain American support. "The UK and Australia have already agreed to negotiate a bilateral AUKUS treaty, but this could never replicate the scale and weight of the trilateral agreement," Ms Keogh said. Publicly both nations have sought to downplay the risk of US withdrawal, with Britain's Labour government highlighting the fact it held a similar review after it came to power. However, Ms Keogh explained officials were privately "very nervous" about how the Trump administration would proceed. The UK has made a flurry of announcements, including a pointed commitment to boost its own submarine production in coming years, as it attempts to demonstrate it is serious about raising its defence spend. Meanwhile, the Australian government has taken a different approach, pushing back against US calls to increase spending and insisting its current strategic plans are adequate. This has prompted intense criticism from a number of leading defence experts, who warn Australia is both weaker and less capable then in previous decades while also at risk of jeopardising its relationship with its most significant defence partner.
Jordan Times
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
UK PM heads to US hoping to 'bridge' Trump-Europe divide over Ukraine
A handout photograph released by the UK House of Commons shows Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivering a speech on defence and security at the House of Commons, in London, on February 25, 2025 (AFP photo) LONDON — 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 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 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 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 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 '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 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 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 will also be hoping that his announcement Tuesday that UK defence spending will rise from 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent by 2027 will please Trump, with the US president regularly saying European countries should be paying more towards other European leaders, Starmer has been at pains to avoid publicly disagreeing with 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 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 polar opposite personalities may also complicate matters. While Trump is a brash, convention-breaking unilateralist, Starmer is a cautious former human rights lawyer who reveres multilateral meeting also comes with 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 Darroch, a former UK ambassador to Washington, 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 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.
MTV Lebanon
25-02-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
UK PM heads to US hoping to 'bridge' Trump-Europe divide
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.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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
