Starmer to demand Biden hands Ukraine missing $20bn before Trump takes over

The Prime Minister is pressing to hold face-to-face talks with outgoing president Joe Biden when they both attend the G20 summit in Brazil next week
The Prime Minister is pressing to hold face-to-face talks with outgoing president Joe Biden when they both attend the G20 summit in Brazil next week - Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Sir Keir Starmer is to urge Joe Biden to release funds for a $20 billion (£15.5 billion) loan to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office.

The Prime Minister is pressing to hold face-to-face talks with Mr Biden, the outgoing US president, when they both attend the G20 summit in Brazil next week.

Sir Keir is also expected to say Ukraine should finally be given permission to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia, something Mr Biden has opposed.

Sir Keir and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, discussed getting the US to change its stance on Storm Shadows during talks in Paris on Monday, as revealed by The Telegraph.

The two leaders spent 20 minutes talking one-on-one about Ukraine, with the wider delegation of aides not in the room – a sign of the political sensitivity of the discussions.

A No 10 spokesman said: “The leaders started by discussing the situation in Ukraine, including how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter.”

The Prime Minister has insisted that Britain will 'support Ukraine for as long as it takes'
The Prime Minister has insisted that Britain will ‘support Ukraine for as long as it takes’ - LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP

The meeting was held as Sir Keir became the first Prime Minister to attend the Armistice Day commemorations in Paris for 80 years, including a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe.

Storm Shadow missiles are made by Britain and France but can use US systems in deployment.

Ukraine has permission to use them to strike just over the Russian border but not far beyond it.

Western allies appear to be working on two fronts – money and weapons – to try to get Mr Biden to go further on support for Ukraine than is currently planned for his last two months in office.

There are concerns in European capitals that Mr Trump, who returns to the White House on Jan 20, will force Ukraine to permanently give up Russian-held land for a peace deal.

Mr Trump has vowed to end the conflict in Ukraine, which Russia invaded, on “day one” of his presidency and has criticised the billions of pounds of financial support for Kyiv given by Mr Biden.

Credit: TrumpDailyPosts/X

The G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro at the start of next week could be crucial as allies discuss speeding up support for Ukraine. Sir Keir, Mr Biden and Mr Macron will all be there.

One focus emerging from London lobbying is for the G7 nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US – to all deliver on the past promise of new loans for Ukraine.

G7 world leaders agreed back in June to $50 billion (£38 billion) of loans for Kyiv, funded in part by the interest earned on Russian assets seized after the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The US pledged to provide $20 billion of that $50 billion total, however it is yet to be delivered. Reports from the US last month indicated the money is being prepared for release this year.

‘A green light to aggressors everywhere’

One Whitehall insider close to policy discussions said Britain was willing to “hold Biden’s feet to the fire” on the promise.

Sir Keir’s talks for the G20 summit are yet to be finalised and announced but figures in Downing Street and the Foreign Office expected a bilateral meeting with Mr Biden will be agreed.

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, is expected to push the same arguments on delivery of loan promises at a G7 gathering of foreign ministers in Rome later this month.

Sir Richard Knighton, the Air Chief Marshal, on Monday appeared to throw his support behind letting Ukraine fire Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russian territory.

Sir Richard said “the alternative to Ukraine’s victory is unthinkable” and would be “a green light to aggressors everywhere” in a speech to the Royal United Services Institute.

Sir Keir’s 20-minute conversation with Mr Macron on Ukraine was matched with a similarly long discussion with the senior teams for both leaders present in the room.

The pair discussed tackling the small boat crossings in the English Channel, a UK-EU defence and security pact – expected to be negotiated next year – and the conflict in the Middle East.

Sir Keir was pressed on whether he discussed Storm Shadow missiles with Mr Macron when speaking to journalists on the plane to the Cop 29 UN Climate Change summit in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

Sir Keir said: “I’ve always said that we support Ukraine for as long as it takes, and we’re stood by that. I’ve also said that on a number of occasions, we need to put Ukraine in the best possible position.

“It has been my constant refrain for four months now, since I’ve been Prime Minister, in all the discussions that I’ve had. That is the heart of the discussions that we’ve been having.”

However, the Prime Minister declined to get into the specifics of any discussions about operational military matters.