U.K. prime minister and U.S. president-elect spoke by phone Wednesday.
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Keir Starmer was among those lobbying the Biden administration to let Ukraine use British-made missiles inside Russia’s borders. | Pool photo by Henry Nicholls via AFP/Getty Images
December 18, 2024 9:04 pm CET
LONDON — The U.K.’s prime minister told Donald Trump on Wednesday that Western allies must “stand together” on Ukraine.
Speaking to the United States president-elect by phone — in their second call since Trump’s thumping November U.S. election win — PM Keir Starmer “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,” per a British readout of the call.
Trump is expected to seek a deal to end the war in Ukraine when he takes office next month, and has publicly criticized consensus Western policy on the conflict — including the green-lighting of Western missiles inside Russian territory.
The U.K. has long been a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Starmer was among those lobbying the Biden administration to let Ukraine use British-made missiles inside Russia’s borders.
Trump and Starmer talked up their “joint ambition to strengthen the close and historic relationship between the U.K. and the U.S,” a No. 10 Downing Street spokesperson said of the call.
Starmer began by congratulating Trump on “his recent team appointments.” The president-elect responded by “warmly recounting” his meeting with the Prince of Wales, Prince William, in Paris earlier this month, No.10 said.
In an interview with the Sun newspaper Tuesday, Starmer said he hopes to restart talks with the new U.S. administration on a trade deal — after sitting President Joe Biden put talks on ice two years ago.
In their call, the leaders said they looked forward to seeing one another “at the earliest opportunity.”
The U.K.’s i newspaper reported Wednesday that Starmer could visit the U.S. as early as February.
The two men met for the first time in September for a two-hour dinner in New York, as Starmer and his party pursued a charm offensive with the president-elect and his allies ahead of the U.S. election.
Starmer’s call with Trump came as a key political rival, Nigel Farage, talked up his own friendship with Trump and his government efficiency pick Elon Musk, who has repeatedly disparaged Starmer and spoken warmly of Farage’s right-wing Reform U.K. party.
