Keir Starmer urges Donald Trump to 'stand together with Ukraine' as president-elect prepares to take power
18 December 2024, 18:28 | Updated: 18 December 2024, 18:43
Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to "stand together with Ukraine" in a call on Wednesday, as the president-elect prepares to take power next month.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Mr Trump has said he wants to end the war in Ukraine, which has run for nearly three years.
The president-elect who will return to the White House in January, has urged the US' European allies to bolster military spending, and claimed it's unfair that Washington spends so much more on defence.
The UK has been one of Ukraine's most vocal backers, and Sir Keir told Mr Trump that it was important "to ensure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position" in its fight with Kremlin forces.
A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke to President-elect Donald Trump this afternoon from Downing Street.
“The Prime Minister began by congratulating President-elect Trump on his recent team appointments and President-elect Trump warmly recounted his meeting with His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in Paris earlier this month.
Starmer says 'UK must stand with Ukraine' but will not be drawn into supporting killing of Russian general
“Both agreed on their joint ambition to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the UK and the US. They looked forward to working together on shared priorities, including international security and delivering economic growth and prosperity.
“Turning to global conflicts, the Prime Minister reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and to ensure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.
“On the Middle East, the Prime Minister underscored the need to work together to ensure peace and security in the region.
“They agreed to keep in touch and looked forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.”
David Lidington and Shelagh Fogarty on European defence spending
It comes after Sir Keir backed Mr Trump's calls for NATO countries to spend more on defence.
The Prime Minister told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that the US president-elect was right to say that "Europe needs to do more" on military expenditure.
Starmer said he had been having "constructive discussions" with Trump on a number of issues, including the military.
"As you know I met him a number of weeks ago," he told Nick. "I do think that when he says that Europe needs to do more, as a general proposition I think that’s right, and we should do more.
