Starmer to press Trump on security guarantees in critical Ukraine talks

PM warns 'backstop' is vital to halt Putin ahead of White House meeting

- Pippa Crerar

Keir Starmer warned yesterday that Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine again unless the US provided security guarantees as he arrived for critical talks with Donald Trump at the most precarious moment for European stability in decades.

With the future security of Ukraine hanging in the balance, the prime minister urged the president to commit a US "backstop" to a British and French-led peacekeeping force, saying it was the only way to avoid Russia plunging Europe back into war.

However, Starmer faces a diplomatic effort to get the US on board after Trump told his first cabinet meeting yesterday that he had no plans to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, adding: "We're going to have Europe do that."

After a frenetic week of international diplomacy, Starmer arrived in Washington for the biggest test yet as he tries to balance the UK's security and economic interests with retaining good relations with the unpredictable president.

Two days earlier, France's president, Emmanuel Macron, warned Trump against a "surrender" of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is expected at the White House 24 hours after Starmer's visit.

Both presidents are expected to attend a defence summit in London on Sunday.

But hanging over Starmer's talks with Trump will be pressure to extract a security "backstop", with the prime minister expected to spell out that any British boots on the ground would be contingent on the US providing support including air, logistics and communications.

"The security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again, because my concern is if there is a ceasefire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again, because his ambition in relation to Ukraine is pretty obvious for all to see," Starmer said on the flight to Washington.