US Prime Minister urges world leaders to “double down” on support for Ukraine
- 18 January, 10:55
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on world leaders to “double down” on support for Ukraine days before the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump who is critical of US military aid to Kyiv.
Speaking alongside the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk during his visit to Warsaw, Starmer said the only way forward was “peace on Ukraine’s terms”, while not commenting on possible impact of Trump’s presidency. Starmer stressed that defence and security issues had dominated the talks in Warsaw.
“As two of Europe’s biggest military powers and with our troops serving together, guarding the eastern flank, we share an unbreakable commitment to NATO, and an unbreakable commitment to Ukraine,” he said.
Starmer explained that the path to a lasting peace in Ukraine comes through strength, “the strength to secure that peace on Ukraine’s terms, to have a strength to maintain it.”
“We will work with allies to that end, to step up our efforts to put Ukraine in the strongest position now, and guarantee that Ukraine will be able to defend herself and deter Russia in the future,” the British official went on saying. Starmer’s remarks follow his first official trip to Kyiv on Thursday since his election as the Prime Minister. Ukraine and its Western allies have been bracing for inauguration of Donald Trump whose presidency risks jeopardizing international solidarity on aid to Ukraine.
