Starmer plots to thwart Trump on Ukraine
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are expected to plot a last-ditch attempt to thwart Donald Trump’s efforts to scale back US support for Ukraine.
The British and French leaders on Monday will discuss whether Joe Biden, the US president, can be persuaded to give Ukraine permission to fire Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia, according to UK Government insiders.
The Telegraph has been told there are hopes in London that Mr Biden will finally give the approval Kyiv has sought for months in a bid to secure his foreign policy legacy.
The talks will take place in Paris as Sir Keir becomes the first UK leader to attend the Armistice Day ceremony in the city since Winston Churchill in 1944.
The knock-on impact of the impending Trump presidency on the Middle East and the possibility of a trade war with Europe are also expected to be discussed.
The efforts come as world leaders attempt to work out how drastically Mr Trump, who won the US election last week, intends to change US policy on Ukraine.
Mr Trump talked about ending the Ukraine war on “day one” throughout his presidential campaign, leading to fears he will force Kyiv to accept land lost to Russia.
A senior Whitehall source said: “We are very keen to make sure we can make the most of the time between now and Jan 20 [when Mr Trump becomes US president] and not just put everything on hold until the next administration.”
Another source said Mr Biden was expected to “turn on the taps” by handing over more financial aid owed to Kyiv in the weeks before he leaves the White House.
Fears surrounding Mr Trump’s plans for Ukraine were fuelled over the weekend with news that Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley, two pro-Ukraine former cabinet members in his first administration, would not be given positions this time round.
Donald Trump Jr, the president-elect’s son, said there is no place in his father’s administration for “war hawks”, in another sign a stark change in approach could be coming.
In a post on Instagram on Saturday, he posted a video appearing to mock Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukraine’s president, over losing his American “allowance” when his father returns to the White House.
In the clip, Mr Zelensky looks unhappy alongside Mr Trump with the caption: “POV: You’re 38 days from losing your allowance.”
Credit: donaldjtrumpjr/Instagram
Elbridge Colby, a Trump ally tipped for a job in the White House, also said on Sunday that Mr Trump would bring “an end to the Ukraine war” and make sure “our Nato allies step up”.
The president-elect told Russia not to escalate the war in Ukraine in a phone call on Thursday, The Washington Post reported. Sources also told the newspaper that Mr Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon”.
Sir Keir has pledged to work closely with Mr Trump despite cabinet ministers including David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, and Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, criticising the president-elect in the past.
However, Sir Keir’s plan could be seen by Mr Trump as an attempt to undermine US foreign policy, which could antagonise him and threaten the relationship before he even takes office in January.
Since Mr Trump’s election victory, Mr Biden has attempted to secure US support for Ukraine. On Thursday, the White House said he will continue “surging” humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine using funds already authorised by Congress.
Mr Biden will lobby Mr Trump not to abandon Ukraine when the pair meet on Wednesday, Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, said on Sunday.
“President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” he said.
The debate over whether Ukraine should be allowed to fire Storm Shadow missiles, made by the UK and France, deep into Russian territory played out for months behind the scenes. The missiles require US technology to be fully effective.
Ukraine is understood to currently only be allowed to use the missiles in limited circumstances on Russian land, such as to hit troops just by the border - though the specifics of any agreements have never been made public.
Mr Zelensky has been calling for permission to fire the missiles further into Russia for months as it could help stop Russian planes taking off before bombing Ukraine.
Well-placed UK government sources said Sir Keir and Mr Macron had become supportive earlier this year.
Previous hopes that Mr Biden would approve further use of the missiles were dashed in September over fears of retaliatory attacks on Western military bases.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, was supportive but Mr Sullivan was against the move, fearing it would escalate the stand-off with Russia and further entangle America, according to the Foreign Office’s analysis of internal debates.
Should Kyiv be given permission to fire Storm Shadows deep into Russian territory before Mr Trump took office it would be more difficult for the approval to be reversed.
On Monday, Sir Keir will have a short meeting with Michel Barnier, the new French prime minister, who was the European Union’s Brexit negotiator.
Sir Keir hopes to negotiate a defence and security pact with the EU in the new year, another topic that is expected to be discussed with Mr Macron.
Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on Sunday failed to promise that Labour’s ambition to spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence will be achieved in the next five years.
Sir Keir’s attendance at the Armistice Day ceremony in Paris marks the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, and the 80th anniversary of the start of the liberation of France
He said: “I am honoured to be in Paris to stand united with President Macron in tribute to the fallen of the First World War who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today.”