UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Donald Trump on Wednesday to ensure that Western allies \u201cstand together\u201d in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n
During a phone call with the U.S. president-elect, their second conversation since Trump\u2019s electoral victory in November, Starmer emphasized the importance of unified support for Ukraine, stating that \u201callies must stand with Ukraine… and ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the British Prime Minister\u2019s Office described the discussion as highlighting a \u201cshared desire to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starmer began the call by congratulating Trump on his recent team appointments. Trump responded by \u201cwarmly recounting\u201d his recent meeting with Prince William, Prince of Wales, in Paris earlier this month, according to the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
As Trump prepares to take office next month, he has expressed intentions to seek a deal to end the war in Ukraine, though he has also publicly criticized certain Western policies, including the approval of missile supplies to Ukraine for use on Russian soil.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Sun<\/em> on Tuesday, Starmer expressed hope to revive trade talks with the incoming U.S. administration. These negotiations had stalled two years ago under President Joe Biden. The leaders also expressed mutual anticipation of meeting in person \u201cat the first opportunity.\u201d According to the i<\/em> newspaper, Starmer may visit the U.S. in early February.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, The Telegraph<\/em> reported that Starmer\u2019s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, conducted private meetings with senior members of Trump\u2019s team earlier this month. McSweeney traveled to Florida to meet Susie Wiles, Trump\u2019s chief of staff-designate, who played a pivotal role in managing his re-election campaign. He also held discussions in Washington with Congressman Mike Waltz, Trump\u2019s incoming National Security Adviser.<\/p>\n A senior source in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office described the interactions as \u201cvery warm,\u201d adding that \u201cPresident Trump has a warm approach to the UK. As the year draws to a close, the Starmer team is confident that the UK is well-placed for a strong bilateral relationship with the new president.\u201d<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s delegation to the U.S., which began on December 2, included Jonathan Powell, former chief of staff to Tony Blair and now Starmer\u2019s national security adviser. Together with McSweeney, Powell engaged in policy discussions on Ukraine, China, and the Middle East, identifying areas of alignment and divergence between the two leaders.<\/p>\n According to The Telegraph<\/em>, those close to Starmer believe Trump is currently in \u201clistening mode\u201d on Ukraine, carefully evaluating strategies to fulfill his campaign promise of resolving the conflict \u201con day one\u201d of his presidency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Donald Trump on Wednesday to ensure that Western allies \u201cstand together\u201d in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. During a phone call with the U.S. president-elect, their second conversation since Trump\u2019s electoral victory in November, Starmer emphasized the importance of unified support for Ukraine, stating that \u201callies must stand with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[803,319,189,4338,2725,3584,3647,683,822,1192,826],"class_list":["post-6815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy","tag-britain","tag-donald-trump","tag-fed","tag-jerome-powell","tag-keir-starmer","tag-mike-waltz","tag-military-support","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-united-states","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"\n