France and Britain yesterday urged allies to put Ukraine in the ‘strongest possible position’ before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron agreed the new strategy during talks in Paris aimed at ensuring Kyiv‘s fight for freedom can survive the return of President Trump, who has vowed to end the war ‘in a day’.
It came as the head of the Royal Air Force stepped up pressure on political leaders to sign off Ukraine’s use of Britain’s powerful Storm Shadow missiles against military targets deep inside Russia.
Ministers are also gearing up for Mr Trump to trigger a trade war by slapping tariffs on all foreign imports. Treasury sources said Rachel Reeves would use the Chancellor’s annual Mansion House speech this week to make the case for free trade.
Defence Secretary John Healey yesterday downplayed concerns that the incoming Trump administration could withdraw military backing for Ukraine, insisting he expects the US to support Kyiv ‘for as long as it takes to prevail’.
Treasury sources said Rachel Reeves would use the Chancellor’s annual Mansion House speech this week to make the case for free trade
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron pledged to put Ukraine in the ‘strongest possible position’ as they held talks after Donald Trump’s bombshell election win
Ministers are also gearing up for Mr Trump to trigger a trade war by slapping tariffs on all foreign imports
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron stand before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Place de l’Etoile in Paris on Monday
Keir Starmer was warmly welcomed by Emmanuel Macron as he arrived in Paris on Monday – with the looming handover in the US high on the agenda
The leaders laid wreaths together in front of the statue of Georges Clemenceau on the Champs Elysees
Sir Keir is the first PM to attend Armistice Day events in France since Churchill in 1944
Mr Healey said the President-elect ‘recognises that countries get security through strength‘. But he later told MPs that European countries ‘must be prepared to spend more on defence’.
Mr Trump’s campaign rhetoric has alarmed Ukraine’s supporters, with some fearing he will slash support and force Kyiv to sue for peace.
The Prime Minister and France‘s president Mr Macron yesterday agreed to step up support immediately to bolster Ukraine’s position before Mr Trump takes office in January.
A No 10 spokesman said the two leaders discussed ‘how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter’.
Speaking to journalists while travelling to the Cop29 climate change summit in Azerbaijan, Sir Keir said: ‘Full support for Ukraine and making sure Ukraine is in the best possible position have been the sort of driving principles of the arguments that I’ve been putting forward.’
President Joe Biden is also expected to urge his successor to maintain support for Kyiv when the two men meet for transition talks tomorrow. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the President would tell Mr Trump that ‘the United States should not walk away from Ukraine’.
The US president prevented Ukraine from using the British Storm Shadows at targets inside Russia over fears Putin would carry out retaliatory attacks on Western military bases
The use of Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine has been widely debated by leaders for months
FILE – President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, July 7, 2017
Britain, France and Germany have already vowed to support Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’ and Zelensky is adamantly against relinquishing territory to Vladimir Putin
But Mr Trump’s son Donald Jr intensified fears his father will do a quick deal with Vladimir Putin, saying there was no place for ‘war hawks’ in his father’s cabinet and suggesting Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky would be ‘losing (his) allowance’.
Sir Keir and Mr Macron are thought to have discussed efforts to persuade Mr Biden to approve the use of Storm Shadows. Although Britain has supplied missiles, US navigation systems are needed to target sites deep inside Russia, requiring Mr Biden’s approval. He has so far resisted because of concerns it could trigger Russia to escalate the crisis.
The case for their use appeared to be backed by Britain’s Chief of the Air Staff Sir Richard Knighton yesterday.
Speaking at defence think-tank Rusi, Sir Richard did not name the missile – but called for Kyiv to be given its capabilities.
‘Ukraine cannot put up a shield to protect themselves against the 30,000 glide bombs lobbed into the Kursk Oblast,’ he said. ‘They need… the ability to strike the aircraft launching these bombs on the ground.’ Mr Zelensky at the weekend told US TV: ‘We are not ready to give our freedom to this f***ing terrorist Putin.’
Meanwhile, ministers are already trying to persuade Mr Trump to drop a plan to put 20 per cent tariffs on all foreign imports.
But Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to Washington, said: ‘It will be quite a challenge for the UK. I don’t see any special deal for the UK or Europe.’