Washington.- Newly elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer made his international debut with a strong signal of support for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Washington.
After he and other European leaders met with US lawmakers, Starmer sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. They hugged, smiling, before holding private talks. Starmer then reaffirmed Britain’s unconditional support for kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion.
Starmer said he and his new Labour government would “take the opportunity that we have here with our allies to make sure that (NATO members) agree to that support.”
Arriving at the summit, Starmer added that it was also important for him to “reinforce, in a sense, a message to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, the resolve of NATO: bigger now than ever, more united than ever and absolutely clear in its stance against the threat of Russian aggression.”
Starmer will also hold a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden, where the two leaders are expected to reaffirm the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom, which has been a hallmark of transatlantic cooperation for more than a century.
At the summit arrival ceremony, Biden and Starmer exchanged a slightly longer handshake than Biden has with other leaders, although their words were not audible.
Starmer left London after being elected in a landslide victory on July 4. He says his message to the world from the U.K. is “we are back,” after years of wrangling with European neighbors over the British government’s divorce from the European Union and a grueling political saga at home.
The new prime minister has put security — an issue that spans the economy, energy and defence — high on the domestic political agenda. He wants to rebuild ties with the European Union after Brexit, including by signing a defence and security pact with the 27-nation bloc, and reassure Ukraine that there will be no change in the British support it receives.
To this end, Starmer has promised to increase UK defence spending from the current figure of 2.3% of gross domestic product to 2.5%. But he has not set a date, unlike the previous Conservative government, which pledged to reach this goal by 2030.
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