Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron pledged to put Ukraine in the ‘strongest possible position’ today as they held talks after Donald Trump’s bombshell election win.
The PM and the President met in Paris amid rising fears about US withdrawing support for Kyiv and the potential for a trade war.
A readout of the discussions released by Downing Street carefully made no mention of Mr Trump or America – but the two leaders will inevitably have covered the developments.
‘The leaders started by discussing the situation in Ukraine, including how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter,’ No10 said.
‘Turning to the Middle East, both underscored their deep concern at the situation in Gaza and Lebanon. They also reiterated the need for stability in the West Bank.’
The leaders also chatted about the situation in the Channel, with Sir Keir desperately trying to enlist France’s help to stop small boats crossing.
Sir Keir was the first UK premier to attend Armistice Day commemorations in France since Winston Churchill was hosted by General de Gaulle in 1944.
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron pledged to put Ukraine in the ‘strongest possible position’ today as they held talks after Donald Trump’s bombshell election win
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron stand before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Place de l’Etoile in Paris today
The leaders jointly laid a wreath to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day
Keir Starmer was warmly welcomed by Emmanuel Macron as he arrived in Paris today – 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
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
Trump issued a stern warning to Putin in their first phone call since the Republican won the presidency.In a call that reportedly took place on Thursday, the incoming president advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of ‘Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe’.
Sources told the Washington Post that Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss ‘the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon’.
The call has been flatly denied by the Kremlin, despite also being confirmed by Reuters.
In a round of interviews this morning, Defence Secretary John Healey said if that message was conveyed it was ‘absolutely right’.
‘We’ll have to wait and see what President Trump really proposes… but if the reports of his call with (Vladimir) Putin last week are right then President Trump is exactly right to warn Putin against escalation of the conflict in Ukraine,’ he told BBC Breakfast.
‘And our task as a nation supporting Ukraine, one of its leading supporters, alongside allies like France, is to step up our support to reinforce the position that Ukraine has at this period where it’s under great pressure from Russia.’
Speculation has been mounting about Mr Trump’s intentions after he claimed during the campaign that he would end the war in a single day.
But there is uncertainty about what policy will be pursued, with Mr Trump’s son Don Jr raising eyebrows by mocking Volodymyr Zelensky’s fears about ‘losing his allowance’.
Sir Keir has pledged to work closely with Trump, despite cabinet ministers including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Deputy PM Angela Rayner criticising the president-elect in the past.
Last week the White House said Mr Biden will continue ‘surging’ humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine using funds already authorised by Congress.
However, a recent report claimed Trump’s transition office is considering a proposal that would seek to freeze the conflict in Ukraine with an ‘800-mile demilitarised zone’.
Sir Keir and Mr Macron were expected to consider whether outgoing commander-in-chief Joe Biden can be convinced to give Kyiv permission to use Storm Shadow missiles against Russia, as well as Donald Trump’s approach to the conflict.
Mr Biden is said to have blocked the UK from authorising Ukraine to use Storm Shadows at targets inside Russia over fears of retaliatory attacks on Western military bases.
World leaders around the globe are anticipating how drastically Trump intends to change US policy on Ukraine following his presidential victory last week.
The UK PM hopes to negotiate a defence and security pact with the EU in the new year, another topic that is expected to be discussed with Macron.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s threat of imposing tariffs on imports has been sparking alarm, with fears of a trade war that will hit the global economy.
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
Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of ‘Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe’, according to the Washington Post
There are high hopes in London that Biden will give permission to Kyiv to use the Storm Shadow missiles – a request Ukraine has made for months
Trump has famously said that the Russia-Ukraine war would never have started had he been president and claimed he could bring the conflict to an abrupt halt – without ever revealing his plans for doing so.
A recent Wall Street Journal report citing three sources ‘close to the president-elect’ claimed that Trump’s transition office is considering one proposal that would prevent Kyiv from joining NATO for at least 20 years in exchange for lucrative arms deals.
In the meantime, the conflict would be halted by the implementation of a large demilitarised zone (DMZ) that would effectively freeze the fighting in place and force Kyiv to relinquish up to 20 per cent of its territory as part of an ‘800-mile DMZ’.
But the sources offered no insight into how such a buffer zone between Russia’s border and unoccupied Ukraine would be monitored or managed, other than to say it would not be staffed by American peacekeepers.
‘We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European… and we are not paying for it,’ one source is quoted as saying.
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.
However, many analysts have warned that Trump is indeed likely to reduce US’ military aid to Ukraine and force Kyiv’s European partners to shoulder a huge burden to maintain an adequate supply of arms.
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