Starmer, Trump discuss Ukraine |

WASHINGTON:

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Donald Trump on Thursday to plead for a US “backstop” to any Ukraine ceasefire, insisting it would be the only way to deter Russia’s Vladimir Putin from invading again.

“The security guarantee has to be sufficient to deter Putin,” Starmer told reporters on the plane to Washington.

“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.”

Trump has appeared cool on providing US security, with the president having long pushed for European nations to take more of the burden for supporting Ukraine.

“Well I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond very much. We’re going to have Europe do that,” Trump told reporters as he held the first cabinet meeting of his second term on Wednesday.

The Oval Office meeting promises to be a clash of styles between the mild-mannered Labour leader, a former human rights lawyer, and the brash Republican tycoon.

His announcement Tuesday that UK defense spending will rise to 2.5 percent by 2027 was particularly aimed at the American leader, who has regularly badgered European countries to pay more towards NATO.

“We are very pleased with Prime Minister Starmer’s announcement,” the senior US official said.