Keir Starmer faces the biggest test of his premiership today as he tries to persuade Donald Trump to stand by Ukraine and Western allies.
The PM is in Washington for talks with the US president, with a bewildering array of potential flashpoints to be covered.
Sir Keir has been appealing for Mr Trump to stop Vladimir Putin ‘coming again’ after a rushed peace deal, arguing America must help guarantee the terms.
He is also pitching for the UK to be spared tariffs as the White House goes on the attack over what it claims are unfair trade arrangements with the rest of the world.
Sir Keir is thought to be armed with an invite from the King for a state visit to the UK as he bids to win over the president.
But Mr Trump did not seem in a mood to change course last night, telling a Cabinet meeting the US would not be providing security guarantees ‘beyond very much’, despite an agreement with Ukraine on sharing mineral wealth. He said ‘we’re going to have Europe do that’.
The commander-in-chief suggested Ukraine could ‘forget about’ joining Nato, appearing to blame the alliance for Russia’s invasion. ‘That’s probably the reason the whole thing started,’ he said.
Mr Trump also insisted 25 per cent tariffs will be imposed on the EU, which he has said was formed to ‘screw’ the US. Britain is currently facing tariffs on steel exports, and the threat of ‘reciprocal’ tariffs to offset VAT – even though that is a general sales tax rather than a charge on imports.
Keir Starmer is in Washington for talks with the US president, with a bewildering array of potential flashpoints to be covered
Mr Trump (pictured) did not seem in a mood to change course last night, telling a Cabinet meeting the US would not be providing security guarantees ‘beyond very much’
Speaking to reporters en route to Washington last night, Sir Keir confirmed he is ready to send thousands of British troops to keep the peace in Ukraine if Mr Trump secures a truce in the three-year-old war.
But he warned it would be an impossible mission unless the United States provides a military ‘backstop’ to British and European forces.
The PM said Putin would inevitably ‘come again’ unless the West is united in securing Ukraine’s future – potentially plunging the continent into war.
‘The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again,’ he said.
‘My concern is if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious, I think, for all to see.’
He added: ‘I’m considering how we preserve peace in Europe and how we get a lasting peace in Ukraine.’
‘And I’m absolutely convinced that we need a lasting peace, not a ceasefire, and for that to happen we need security guarantees.
‘Precisely what that layers up to, what that looks like, is obviously a subject of intense discussion.
‘We will play our part and I’ve been clear that we will need a US backstop of some sort.’
The PM’s visit to the White House today is part of a frantic European effort to persuade President Trump not to abandon Ukraine and Europe.
The diplomatic push began with a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Monday and will continue when President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Washington tomorrow to discuss what security guarantees the US is prepared to offer in return for a share of valuable rare minerals.
All three leaders are expected to review progress at an emergency summit on European security in London on Sunday.
The Ukrainian president said the proposed deal on rare minerals ‘may be part of future security guarantees, but I want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?’
The PM faces a diplomatic tightrope as he tries to avoid antagonising a President whose claim that President Zelensky is a ‘dictator’ and recent statements on issues like Nato and Gaza have horrified and alarmed senior ministers.
Sir Keir has been appealing for Mr Trump to stop Vladimir Putin (pictured) ‘coming again’ after a rushed peace deal, arguing America must help guarantee the terms
The diplomatic push began with a visit by Emmanuel Macron to the White House on Monday and will continue when President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) visits Washington tomorrow
Yesterday Sir Keir pointedly referred to President Zelensky as Ukraine’s ‘democratically elected’ leader.
And Downing Street said he would push Mr Trump to agree that Ukraine’s leader must be involved in any peace talks on the future of his country.
But government sources acknowledged he is anxious to avoid a public row with the President, whose return to the White House last month has upended the post-war world order.
At a reception attended by Sir Keir last night, new ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson praised Mr Trump as a ‘very consequential president’.
The peer said it was a ‘very significant moment for our lives, between our two countries and indeed for all the freedom-loving democracies in the world’.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has admitted there will be ‘no deal’ on handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – and then paying to lease back the military base on Diego Garcia – unless Mr Trump agrees.
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