Starmer and Macron vow to place Ukraine in ‘strongest position’ forward of Trump’s presidency

John Healey said it is “Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts” after a Trump ally appeared to suggest that the war could end if Kyiv was open to ceding land to Russia.

The Defence Secretary told BBC Breakfast: “Because of the strength of bipartisan support in the US and a recognition that it’s in no one’s interest to let an aggressor like (Vladimir) Putin redraw international boundaries by force, I expect the US to remain steadfast alongside countries like the UK.

“We can do more to support Ukraine. We’re doing that at the moment, and that will be part of the discussion that Prime Minister Starmer has with President (Emmanuel) Macron this morning in Paris.”

Asked what the UK’s reaction to the suggestion that the war could come to a conclusion if there was support within Ukraine to give away land to Russia, he said: “It’s Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts. Our job is to support Ukraine, stand by them when they fight, stand by them if they decide to talk.

“This could be ended today if Putin withdrew following his illegal invasion… that’s the way this conflict could be ended, and the importance for us for Europe and for the United States is that Putin in the long run does not prevail, because if he does prevail, he will not stop at Ukraine, and the cost to us all will be much greater in the future.”

Source: telegraph.co.uk