Keir Starmer to urge G20 leaders to ‘double down’ on Ukraine support

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Sir Keir Starmer, UK prime minister, will urge G20 leaders to “double down” on their help for Ukraine, as he seeks to rally help for Kyiv forward of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president in January.

In a thinly veiled swipe at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who this week spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Starmer mentioned: “It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to. I’ve no plans to talk to Putin.”

Starmer hopes that Joe Biden will provide Ukraine with billions of {dollars} of loans within the dying days of his presidency and has additionally been urgent for US help to permit Kyiv to fireplace UK and French Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russian territory.

Talking forward of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Starmer mentioned: “I’m going to make shoring up help for Ukraine high of my agenda as we go into the G20 as a result of we’ve seen 1,000 days of aggression, 1,000 days of sacrifice by the Ukrainians.”

Starmer mentioned that involvement of North Korean troops alongside the Russian army had further “safety implications” for Europe and within the Pacific.

“I believe it’s actually essential we double down and provides Ukraine the help that it wants for so long as it wants it,” Starmer mentioned. “Clearly, I’m not going to get into discussing capabilities. You wouldn’t count on me to try this.”

“We can’t enable Putin to win, I believe that may be extraordinarily unhealthy for safety in Europe, I believe with the North Korean aspect will probably be extraordinarily unhealthy for safety within the Indo-Pacific.”

Starmer mentioned Ukraine over dinner with Trump in New York in September, and mentioned that he had a “constructive relationship” with the president-elect.

“It’s a particular relationship cast in tough circumstances traditionally,” he mentioned. “And I intend to make it possible for it’s as robust going ahead because it’s ever been.”

Starmer declined to say whether or not he anticipated Trump being invited on a state go to to London, a transfer supported by new Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch.

“I’ve had a constructive assembly with president-elect Trump just a few weeks in the past, a constructive dialogue with him on the cellphone the opposite day, however I’m not going to get forward of issues,” he mentioned. Requested if he was ruling out a state go to, he mentioned: “No.” 

Trump made a state go to to Britain in 2019 throughout his first presidency.