Defence Secretary John Healey today hailed Donald Trump’s warning to Russia against escalating the Ukraine war.
Mr Healey insisted the US president-elect was ‘exactly right’ to issue the tough message to Vladimir Putin, reportedly in a phone call last week.
In a round of interviews, the minister also voiced confidence about the new administration’s approach to the conflict, saying Mr Trump ‘recognises that countries get security through strength’.
Speculation has been mounting about the incoming commander-in-chief’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’.
Defence Secretary John Healey today hailed Donald Trump’s (pictured) warning to Russia against escalating the Ukraine war
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’
Mr Healey insisted the US president-elect was ‘exactly right’ to issue the tough message to Vladimir Putin , reportedly in a phone call last week
Keir Starmer will hold talks with Emmanuel Macron about Trump, Ukraine and tariffs today ahead of Armistice Day events in France.
The PM is in Paris to meet the President as the leaders consider the looming handover in the US.
They are 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 Mr Trump’s approach to the conflict.
The prospect of the Republican imposing sweeping tariffs on imports is also bound to come up, as world leaders brace for him to shake up the world order.
During a call on Thursday, Trump is said to have advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of ‘Washington’s sizeable military presence in Europe’.
Sources also told the Washington Post that the president-elect expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss ‘the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon’.
Mr Healey told BBC Breakfast: ‘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.
‘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.’
Asked whether Ukraine’s safety had diminished since Mr Trump’s election win, Mr Healey told Sky News: ‘No, I don’t. The US alongside the UK have been two of the leading countries that have been standing by Ukraine, supporting Ukraine, our determination to do so is just as strong.’
He added: ‘As far as President Trump goes, he recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like Nato do, and I expect the US to remain alongside allies like the UK, standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail over Putin’s invasion.’
Keir Starmer will hold talks with Emmanuel Macron (pictured together in August) about Trump, Ukraine and tariffs today ahead of Armistice Day events in France
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