Keir Starmer to satisfy Joe Biden and ‘quad’ leaders for Ukraine and Gaza talks
Keir Starmer will meet with the leaders of the US, Germany, and France in Berlin on Friday.
The crisis in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine are expected to be top of the agenda at the meeting of the “Quad” group of nations.
US President Joe Biden was forced to postpone the meeting with the Prime Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, last week as the White House monitored the impact of Hurricane Milton on Florida.
Mr Starmer will press for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages, as well as urgent action to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, No10 said. The PM will call on all sides to step back from the brink and come to the table to find a diplomatic solution to the devastating conflict.
The UK continues to support Israel’s right to self defence but it must comply with international humanitarian law, including allowing the flow of aid into Gaza, Downing Street said.
The leaders will also hold talks on the war in Ukraine, including President Volodymyr Zelensky’s victory plan which includes calls for Kyiv to be permitted to fire long-range missiles into Russia.
The UK has so far refused to agree to allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles and other Western-supplied weapons into Russian territory.
It comes as the UK announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russian oil tankers and liquified gas tankers.
The Foreign Office said on Thursday morning that it had sanctioned 18 oil tankers, four liquified gas tankers, and the Russian gas company Rusgazdobycha JSC. It brings the total number of oil tankers sanctioned to 43.
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said: “We must combat malign Russian activity at every turn, whether illicit tactics to bolster Putin’s war chest, their use of cyber attacks or barbarism on the front line in Ukraine.
“The UK is leading the charge against Putin’s desperate and dangerous attempts to cling on to his energy revenues, with his shadow fleet placing coastlines across Europe and the world in jeopardy.
“I have made it my personal mission to constrain the Kremlin, closing the net around Putin and his mafia state using every tool at my disposal.”
