Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are up for travelling to Washington DC to present a united front to US President Donald Trump, it has been reported
Keir Starmer is reportedly willing to meet Donald Trump again as soon as next week – less than a fortnight after he visited the White House.
The Prime Minister and French President Emmanuel Macron are up for travelling to Washington DC to present a united front to the US President, the Daily Mail reported last night. It would mark a quick return to the US after the PM had a sit-down meeting with Mr Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday.
Defence Secretary John Healey is due to meet his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on Thursday. The trip was agreed last week after Mr Starmer announced an increase in the UK’s defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, and comes just days after the US halted military aid to Kyiv. It is believed no decision has been made by Downing Street on whether the PM will travel to DC.
Talks of a peace agreement in Ukraine continue to accelerate at pace. Mr Starmer has had multiple phone calls with Mr Trump since his trip to DC last week. In the latest development, it emerged Volodymyr Zelenskyy has written to Mr Trump to say he appreciates US support for his country in its war with Russia and is ready to sign a deal that could ensure future American support.
The Ukrainian president had earlier said it is “time to make things right” with Mr Trump after a tense bust-up in the Oval Office last week and the US decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine. In his letter, he said Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement “at any time”.
Mr Trump said he appreciates Mr Zelensky’s letter and added that he has had “strong signals” from Russia that Moscow is ready for peace, adding: “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” The US President’s response signalled a shift from the past week in which he repeatedly hit out at the Ukrainian leader.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Wednesday morning welcomed Mr Trump’s response to Mr Zelensky’s letter. “We welcome anything that moves things forward,” the Cabinet minister told Times Radio. “But the position that the prime minister has taken, and which I think he’s done an excellent job of doing, is playing an honest broker between the US, Ukraine and our European partners.
I think that we’ve got some positive developments…But of course, you know, there’s a long way to go yet. And the prime minister will keep doing exactly what he’s been doing over the last few days.”
