Starmer in Paris for Armistice events but will also discuss implications of Republican’s victory in US presidential election
In his interviews this morning John Healey, the defence secretary, was generally talking down the risk that Donald Trump’s re-election poses to Ukraine rather than talking it up. But perhaps his most accurate answer came when he we will just have to “wait and see” what happens. Here is a summary of the main lines from his interviews on this topic.
Healey said he did not expect the US to turn away from Nato under Trump. He told Sky News:
I don’t expect the US to turn away from Nato. They recognise the importance of the alliance. They recognise the importance of avoiding further conflict in Europe.
Healey said he expected the US under Trump to stand by Ukraine for “as long as it takes to prevail”. Asked if Trump’s win made Ukraine less safe, he told Sky News:
No, I don’t. The US alongside the UK have been two of the leading countries that have been standing by Ukraine, supporting Ukraine, our determination to do so is just as strong.
As far as President Trump goes, he recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like Nato do, and I expect the US to remain alongside allies like the UK, standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail over Putin’s invasion.
But Healey also said the world would have to “wait and see” what Trump would do over Ukraine. He told BBC Breakfast:
We’ll have to wait and see what President Trump really proposes … but if the reports of his call with [Vladimir] Putin last week are right then President Trump is exactly right to warn Putin against escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
Healey said Keir Starmer and President Macron would be discussing this morning what “more” they can do to support Ukraine.
Healey said it was for Ukraine to decide when it starts talking to Russia about peace. He said:
It’s Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts. Our job is to support Ukraine, stand by them when they fight, stand by them if they decide to talk.
This could be ended today if Putin withdrew following his illegal invasion … that’s the way this conflict could be ended, and the importance for us for Europe and for the United States is that Putin in the long run does not prevail, because if he does prevail, he will not stop at Ukraine, and the cost to us all will be much greater in the future.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/nov/11/starmer-macron-trump-putin-ukraine-uk-politics-live
Author : Andrew Sparrow
Publish date : 2024-11-11 09:50:08
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