Ukraine’s efforts to ease US and UK arms restrictions will be the subject of talks between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
As Keir Starmer visits the White House for crucial talks on missiles for Ukraine, Joe Biden said he “doesn’t think much of Vladimir Putin.”
This comes as Ukrainian warlord Zelensky expressed dissatisfaction with restrictions on missile use against Russia.
Speaking in the White House Blue Room, facing a row of officials opposite the US president, Starmer said he believes the UK and the US are “strategically aligned” as they begin talks on the Ukraine conflict and the Middle East.
But when asked by reporters what he thought about the Russian dictator’s threats of war, President Biden said he “doesn’t think much about Vladimir Putin.” House of Representatives – Just 24 hours after the Russian dictator issued a powerful threat against NATO countries, Putin said lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against targets on Russian territory “would change the nature of the conflict.”
“That would mean NATO countries would be at war with Russia,” he added, dramatically escalating his remarks.
Starmer rejected the comments, saying the Russian president had launched a bloody invasion of Ukraine so that “this conflict could end immediately”.
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On Friday evening, the prime minister held a one-on-one meeting with outgoing US President Biden at the White House, before strategy consultations with officials. Also attending the meeting were Foreign Secretary David Lammy, National Security Adviser Tim Barrow and British Ambassador to the US Dame Karen Pierce. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to attend with President Biden.
Starmer said at the start of the meeting that he believed Britain and the US were “strategically aligned”.
Asked what he thought about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats of war, US President Joe Biden said “I don’t think much of Vladimir Putin” and declined to comment on whether Britain and the US would condone attacks on Ukraine. Russia would target targets with long-range missiles.
He told reporters outside the White House: “Tactical decisions are spoken of.
“This is not about any specific decisions, but of course we will raise this issue again with more people in the UN General Assembly in the coming days, but this is a very important invitation from the President and these important issues are being debated at the UN General Assembly at this level
Mr Starmer and Mr Biden were due to discuss the Middle East conflict and progress towards a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, where more than 41,000 Palestinians have lost their lives.
But the meeting came amid growing speculation that Western allies are preparing to ease restrictions on Kiev’s use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles.
The weapons, which Britain has already delivered to Ukraine, have a maximum range of 305 kilometers. But current rules do not allow Kiev to attack Russian territory. No announcement about changing the restrictions is expected on Friday evening.
But Ukrainian war leader Zenlensky said Putin has “no interest in ending the war” and is “content to send people to their deaths”. He said it was “difficult” to hear from international partners that they were “working on” any requests for assistance, such as air defense systems.
Zelensky added: “The same applies to long-range capabilities. If you look on a map at where Russia launches attacks, trains its troops, holds reserves, sees where its military facilities are located, what logistics it uses, you can clearly understand why Ukraine needs long-range capabilities.
We discussed this subject during Secretary Blinken’s and Secretary Lammy’s visit. After our conversation, in my opinion, there should be no open questions about why Ukraine needs sufficient long-range capabilities.”
“I want to emphasize the word ‘enough’ – not just to say there is a decision, but enough to actually turn the tide of the war and force Russia to seek peace.”
During a whirlwind 24-hour visit to Washington, D.C. – the prime minister’s second visit to the US since Labour’s landslide victory – the prime minister was greeted by a red carpet at Joint Base Andrews airport before a motorcade took him to the British ambassador’s residence.
Accompanied by his powerful chief of staff Sue Gray, Starmer told reporters on board a British government plane that he had not expected to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Democratic candidates for November’s presidential election campaigned in battleground states “as expected,” the prime minister said. In addition, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that Royal Navy warships had tracked four Russian ships sailing through the English Channel and the North Sea last week.
The Ministry of Defence said two RAF Typhoons had also been alerted on Wednesday to intercept two Russian-made Bear F aircraft flying near the UK. The government added that they had never entered UK airspace. Earlier this week Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This government is committed to keeping the UK safe at home and strong abroad.
“The efforts of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force over the past two weeks demonstrate their selfless commitment to protecting the nation’s security.
“I want to thank the members of our armed forces who took part in this operation – they have demonstrated the utmost in professionalism and skill whilst working seamlessly with our NATO allies to uphold international standards.”
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who met with Zelensky in Kiev on Friday, also urged Western allies to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles against targets inside Russia.
“It is vital that Ukraine can properly defend itself against a frightening Russian attack, whether by glide bombs or now Iranian missiles,” he said. Former Conservative defence secretary Grant Shapps added: “This is a crucial time in supporting democracy. I need say no more. It’s time for real action from the West.”