“If there is a cease-fire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again,” Keir Starmer warned on the flight to Washington, D.C.
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
ABOARD THE PRIME MINISTER'S PLANE TO WASHINGTON — Keir Starmer came to see Donald Trump with a warning — fail to protect Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin will "come again."
His face solemn, the U.K. prime minister finished his Q&A with journalists and returned to aides at the front of his plane.
Barely an hour later, Trump sounded in no mood to listen.
The president told his Cabinet: "I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that.”
It was a neat illustration of the diplomatic tornado awaiting Britain's buttoned-up prime minister when he meets Trump for lunch Thursday.
Starmer's comments, made on his flight to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, had not even been published by U.K. media outlets before they were outrun by another presidential remark.
'Intense discussion' on backstop
Starmer is one of three leaders flying in to make his case at the White House this week, after French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
The U.K. has offered up its armed forces for a possible Europe-wide peacekeeping force in Ukraine after the war.
In return, Starmer has been coordinating with allies to ask for a U.S.
“backstop” — a security guarantee that would both safeguard peacekeeping troops if Russia chose to retaliate and prevent the situation from escalating.
Without sufficient U.S. cover, Starmer suggested, the Russian president could attack Ukraine again and the situation could spiral into a wider war.
Starmer told journalists on the plane: “The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again.
“Because my concern is if there is a cease-fire 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, I think, for all to see."
U.K. officials were tight-lipped on Wednesday as to what security guarantees Starmer will be asking of Trump.
In a sense, the U.S. troops and military assets stationed in Europe already represent a de facto backstop — the question is whether Starmer and Zelenskyy can persuade Trump to provide more.
“It’s got to be a lasting peace, and that requires us to put in place an effective security guarantee,” Starmer said, while admitting: “Exactly what the configuration of that is, exactly what the backstop is, is obviously the subject of intense discussion.”
Starmer declined to rule out sending British troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force, even if U.S. security guarantees are deemed insufficient.
“The U.K. will play its part in that with others," he said. "But we need a U.S. backstop, because I don't think there will be a deterrent to Putin if we don't have that.
“I understand the gravity of the situation, but this is about ensuring that we all enjoy peace. It's about the security and defense not just of Ukraine and Europe but our own security and defense.”
Diplomacy blitz
Zelenskyy will follow Starmer quickly, arriving in Washington on Friday. Trump said the Ukraine leader would use the trip to sign what he called “a very big agreement” to share revenue from Ukraine’s rare-earth mineral deposits.
Yet Zelenskyy described it as merely “a beginning, a framework deal,” adding:
“The success will depend on our talk with President Trump.” A White House official confirmed that a draft of the agreement includes broad language that Ukraine has pushed for referencing security guarantees — but said the agreement “is NOT a guarantee of future aid for the war, nor does it include ANY commitment of US personnel in the region.”
European leaders — including Zelenskyy — will then fly to London on Sunday for a meeting convened by Starmer. U.K. officials expect to use that meeting to follow up on any progress that has been made around security guarantees.
Starmer suggested he could back joint EU-U.K. defense funding arrangements, which are being discussed by G20 finance ministers in South Africa.
“I accept that European allies, the U.K. included, must do more, and that means on capability, coordination and spend,” he said. “And the coordination bit shouldn't be overlooked. I was very struck by the lessons we have to learn from Ukraine about the way in which warfare has been conducted, and about the need for us to coordinate better in terms of the capability we’ve all got on the table in relation to supporting Ukraine.”
Buttering up the president
Despite the gulf between the U.S. and European allies, Starmer — who announced a surprise boost to U.K. defense spending at the expense of foreign aid on Tuesday — did his best to butter up the U.S. president in advance of the visit.
Senior aides travelled to Washington in the week before Starmer’s visit to help prepare the ground. Starmer is joined on the trip by his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who held talks with his White House counterpart Susie Wiles in Florida in December.
Starmer is also joined on the visit by his national security adviser Jonathan Powell, who has been pressing the U.S. to approve a deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands — a British-controlled, militarily strategic archipelago in the Indian Ocean — to Mauritius.
Starmer said he could trust Trump, who is “clearly committed to NATO.” He told journalists that “of course” the president — who has branded Zelenskyy a "dictator" — knows that Putin is the aggressor in Ukraine, and “there's no issue between us on this.”
He also sang the praises of the “hardwired” defense and security links between the two nations, and is widely expected to convey an invite from King Charles III for a state visit to the U.K. — Trump’s second after visiting in his first term.
He laughed off Trump’s bizarre AI-generated video of his vision for Gaza, saying he had not seen it.
In return Starmer is hoping to win Trump’s support for stronger U.K.-U.S. trade ties, including a deal on greater cooperation on AI and advanced technologies, which Downing Street called “high-ambition shared moonshot missions across top technologies including quantum and AI.”
The proposals are being pushed by the U.K.’s new ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson. A U.K. official confirmed reports that Mandelson has been privately referring to the proposals on AI and critical technologies as “MEGA,” or Make our Economies Great Again.
www.politico.eu
FEBRUARY 26, 2025
ABOARD THE PRIME MINISTER'S PLANE TO WASHINGTON — Keir Starmer came to see Donald Trump with a warning — fail to protect Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin will "come again."
His face solemn, the U.K. prime minister finished his Q&A with journalists and returned to aides at the front of his plane.
Barely an hour later, Trump sounded in no mood to listen.
The president told his Cabinet: "I'm not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We're going to have Europe do that.”
It was a neat illustration of the diplomatic tornado awaiting Britain's buttoned-up prime minister when he meets Trump for lunch Thursday.
Starmer's comments, made on his flight to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, had not even been published by U.K. media outlets before they were outrun by another presidential remark.
'Intense discussion' on backstop
Starmer is one of three leaders flying in to make his case at the White House this week, after French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday and ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
The U.K. has offered up its armed forces for a possible Europe-wide peacekeeping force in Ukraine after the war.
In return, Starmer has been coordinating with allies to ask for a U.S.
“backstop” — a security guarantee that would both safeguard peacekeeping troops if Russia chose to retaliate and prevent the situation from escalating.
Without sufficient U.S. cover, Starmer suggested, the Russian president could attack Ukraine again and the situation could spiral into a wider war.
Starmer told journalists on the plane: “The reason I say the backstop is so important is that the security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin from coming again.
“Because my concern is if there is a cease-fire 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, I think, for all to see."
U.K. officials were tight-lipped on Wednesday as to what security guarantees Starmer will be asking of Trump.
In a sense, the U.S. troops and military assets stationed in Europe already represent a de facto backstop — the question is whether Starmer and Zelenskyy can persuade Trump to provide more.
“It’s got to be a lasting peace, and that requires us to put in place an effective security guarantee,” Starmer said, while admitting: “Exactly what the configuration of that is, exactly what the backstop is, is obviously the subject of intense discussion.”
Starmer declined to rule out sending British troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force, even if U.S. security guarantees are deemed insufficient.
“The U.K. will play its part in that with others," he said. "But we need a U.S. backstop, because I don't think there will be a deterrent to Putin if we don't have that.
“I understand the gravity of the situation, but this is about ensuring that we all enjoy peace. It's about the security and defense not just of Ukraine and Europe but our own security and defense.”
Diplomacy blitz
Zelenskyy will follow Starmer quickly, arriving in Washington on Friday. Trump said the Ukraine leader would use the trip to sign what he called “a very big agreement” to share revenue from Ukraine’s rare-earth mineral deposits.
Yet Zelenskyy described it as merely “a beginning, a framework deal,” adding:
“The success will depend on our talk with President Trump.” A White House official confirmed that a draft of the agreement includes broad language that Ukraine has pushed for referencing security guarantees — but said the agreement “is NOT a guarantee of future aid for the war, nor does it include ANY commitment of US personnel in the region.”
European leaders — including Zelenskyy — will then fly to London on Sunday for a meeting convened by Starmer. U.K. officials expect to use that meeting to follow up on any progress that has been made around security guarantees.
Starmer suggested he could back joint EU-U.K. defense funding arrangements, which are being discussed by G20 finance ministers in South Africa.
“I accept that European allies, the U.K. included, must do more, and that means on capability, coordination and spend,” he said. “And the coordination bit shouldn't be overlooked. I was very struck by the lessons we have to learn from Ukraine about the way in which warfare has been conducted, and about the need for us to coordinate better in terms of the capability we’ve all got on the table in relation to supporting Ukraine.”
Buttering up the president
Despite the gulf between the U.S. and European allies, Starmer — who announced a surprise boost to U.K. defense spending at the expense of foreign aid on Tuesday — did his best to butter up the U.S. president in advance of the visit.
Senior aides travelled to Washington in the week before Starmer’s visit to help prepare the ground. Starmer is joined on the trip by his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who held talks with his White House counterpart Susie Wiles in Florida in December.
Starmer is also joined on the visit by his national security adviser Jonathan Powell, who has been pressing the U.S. to approve a deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands — a British-controlled, militarily strategic archipelago in the Indian Ocean — to Mauritius.
Starmer said he could trust Trump, who is “clearly committed to NATO.” He told journalists that “of course” the president — who has branded Zelenskyy a "dictator" — knows that Putin is the aggressor in Ukraine, and “there's no issue between us on this.”
He also sang the praises of the “hardwired” defense and security links between the two nations, and is widely expected to convey an invite from King Charles III for a state visit to the U.K. — Trump’s second after visiting in his first term.
He laughed off Trump’s bizarre AI-generated video of his vision for Gaza, saying he had not seen it.
In return Starmer is hoping to win Trump’s support for stronger U.K.-U.S. trade ties, including a deal on greater cooperation on AI and advanced technologies, which Downing Street called “high-ambition shared moonshot missions across top technologies including quantum and AI.”
The proposals are being pushed by the U.K.’s new ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson. A U.K. official confirmed reports that Mandelson has been privately referring to the proposals on AI and critical technologies as “MEGA,” or Make our Economies Great Again.
UK’s Keir Starmer warns Putin will ‘come again’ as he flies into Trump tornado
“If there is a cease-fire without a backstop, it will simply give him the opportunity to wait and to come again,” Keir Starmer warned on the flight to Washington, D.C.
www.politico.eu
