Starmer: UK does not need to choose between US and European allies

Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK does not need to choose between the US and Europe as he pledged support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes".

In a banquet speech focused on foreign affairs, the Prime Minister said it was “plain wrong” to suggest the UK must choose between its allies, adding: “I reject it utterly.

“(Clement) Attlee did not choose between allies. (Winston) Churchill did not choose.

“The national interest demands that we work with both.”

Sir Keir said the UK and the US were “intertwined” when it came to commerce, technology and security.

The Prime Minister added: “That’s why, when President Trump graciously hosted me for dinner in Trump Tower, I told him that we will invest more deeply than ever in this transatlantic bond with our American friends in the years to come.”

In a speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet on Monday evening, the prime minister reaffirmed the continued support and military aid will put Ukraine in the "strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence, and right to choose their own future.”

In his speech at London’s Guildhall, the Prime Minister said there is “no question it is right we support Ukraine”, as the UK’s aid to Kyiv is “deeply in our self-interest”.

Allowing Russia to win the war would mean “other autocrats would believe they can follow Putin’s example,” he warned.

Sir Keir added: “So we must continue to back Ukraine and do what it takes to support their self-defence for as long as it takes.

“To put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence, and right to choose their own future.”

German chancellor Olaf Scholtz visited Kyiv to meet Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time in two years to reaffirm Germany's support to Ukraine.

The trip comes just weeks after Scholtz spoke on the phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a move that was criticised by Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president said it could reduce Putin's international isolation and legitimise his invasion of Ukraine, while Scholtz defended the call, saying he reminded the Russian president that Ukraine is a sovereign nation and that its allies will continue its support.

In a further boost for Zelenskyy, the US announced it will send $725 million in military assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The package includes counter-drone systems and munitions for its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which could indicate more longer-range missiles could be sent to the battlefield.

More anti-personnel landmines will also be sent which Ukraine is hoping will slow Russian and North Korean ground forces in the Kursk region.

As the war enters its fourth year, Ukraine has pressed for more longer-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

The German Chancellor has refused to allow Ukraine to use its German and Swedish made Taurus missiles in a cautious approach to not escalate the conflict.

Speaking in Kyiv Scholz said: “This doesn’t lessen our support, which is very wide-ranging and – it is important for me to say – will remain wide-ranging."

Last month, Western nations granted Kyiv permission to carry out long range missile attacks inside Russia resulting in Putin launching a strike against Ukraine's energy grid using what he called an unstoppable intermediate range ballistic missile, known as the Orshenik.

As the conflict reaches a pivotal turning point, Ukraine is sensitive to cracks in support from Western allies with fragile support for NATO membership and the challenges of an incoming Trump administration who pledged to end the fighting.

On Friday, Zelenskyy said an offer of NATO membership could end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine, but Germany is hesitant to allow the fast-tracking of NATO membership, with Scholtz emphasising the importance of finding a path to peace.

Germany, a leader in providing Ukraine with air defence systems, has already supplied five IRIS-T systems, three Patriot systems and more than 50 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, with more materials arriving this month and next year.

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