UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Joe Biden at the White House for high-level talks centered on Ukraine, long-range missiles, and global security concerns. Starmer described the discussions as “productive,” with a focus on strategic planning rather than specific tactical decisions, particularly on whether the UK and US would allow Ukraine to deploy long-range missiles into Russian territory. No decision was made as to whether Kyiv would be allowed to fire long-range missiles into Russia.
The White House emphasised “deep concern” about Iran and North Korea’s provision of lethal weapons to Russia, as Ukraine faces increasing drone attacks from Iranian-made weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched over 70 Iranian-made drones across Ukraine overnight, and has urged Western allies for stronger air defense systems and long-range capabilities, which he believes are crucial for defending against Russia’s sustained bombardment of Ukrainian cities and military targets.
Starmer’s visit comes amidst growing tensions. Russian President Vladimir Putin had warned that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russia would signify NATO’s “direct participation” in the war. However, former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and US diplomat Kurt Volker dismissed Putin’s threats, suggesting they are attempts to deter the West from bolstering Ukraine’s capabilities.
“I’m just disappointed that it’s yet again another tug of war around another capability,” the former Conservative MP said. Kurt Volker, former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations said Putin’s comments were made to prevent further Western action.
“The reason Putin says those things is to achieve the result of deterring us from doing things – not that it has any bearing on what he’s really going to do or really thinks,” he told the Today programme.
Commenting on the debate over long-range missiles, he said the US “overplays the sense that this is a new red line that this would be so provocative to Russia that it would create some kind of new escalation”.
Addressing reporters ahead of his meeting with Starmet at the White House, Biden said: “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin”.
While the US and UK have previously supplied Ukraine with long-range missiles, they have so far restricted their use on Russian territory, fearing potential escalation. However, Zelensky has repeatedly called on Kyiv’s Western allies to authorise such use, arguing that it is the only way to bring about an end to the war.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian cities and front lines have been under daily bombardment from Russia. Many of the missiles and glide bombs that hit Ukraine’s military positions, blocks of flats, energy facilities and hospitals are launched by Russian aircraft deep inside Russia. Kyiv says not being allowed to hit the bases from which these attacks are launched hinders its self-defence capability.
Beyond Ukraine, Biden and Starmer also discussed broader geopolitical issues, including the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict and the importance of the Indo-Pacific region. Biden highlighted the enduring US-UK partnership, asserting that the two nations could work together on any issue of global significance.
Meanwhile, diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia deteriorated further as Moscow expelled six British diplomats, accusing them of espionage. The UK Foreign Office swiftly rejected the accusations as baseless.
In a related development, the US announced new sanctions against Russia’s state-controlled media channel, RT, accusing it of acting as an arm of Russian intelligence. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused RT of conducting covert operations aimed at undermining democracy in the US and supporting Russia’s military actions.
Despite the tensions and uncertainties, Starmer remained focused on strategy, underscoring the importance of Ukraine’s right to self-defense and expressing optimism that these critical discussions would continue.
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