Starmer arrives in US for talks with Biden on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to meet President Joe Biden in the White House on Friday.
The Prime Minister has arrived in the US to hold talks with President Joe Biden on resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to meet Mr Biden in the White House on Friday following pleas from Ukraine to lift restrictions on using Western weaponry against Russian targets.
The PM’s visit to Washington DC comes just two months before Americans go to the polls in the presidential election, and follows Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s trip to Kyiv alongside US secretary of state Antony Blinken.
Neither man was drawn on granting Ukraine permission to use the long-range missiles supplied by the West to attack targets in Russia, which is a key request of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Concern about escalation has been one of the reasons why permission has not yet been given to Kyiv.
Iran has been hit with sanctions by the UK and US after the two countries formally accused Tehran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia.
Mr Lammy and Mr Blinken announced further financial support for Ukraine, including a £600 million package from the UK and 717 million dollars (£550 million) from the US to meet immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs.
The UK package includes a reaffirmation of Rishi Sunak’s pledge of £242 million, as well as 484 million dollars (£371 million) worth of loan guarantees for World Bank lending before the end of the year, while the US package includes 325 million dollars (£250 million) to support Ukraine’s energy needs.
Sir Keir’s second trip to the US as Prime Minister will also see him discuss the conflict in the Middle East, and any potential progress that can be made towards the release of hostages and a ceasefire deal.
Their first White House bilateral took place as Sir Keir attended the Nato summit just days after Labour won the election.
The pair are also expected to discuss strengthening cooperation to secure supply chains, increasing climate resilience and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.
