Starmer: Many people urge us to choose between US and Europe, but Churchill didn't

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stressed the importance of maintaining transatlantic ties despite President Donald Trump's lukewarm attitude towards Europe.

Source: The New York Times, as reported by European Pravda

Quote from Starmer: "Many people are urging us to choose between the US and Europe. Churchill didn’t do it. Attlee didn’t do it. It’d be a big mistake, in my view, to choose now."

Details: Pausing, he added: "I do think that President Trump has a point when he says there needs to be a greater burden borne by European countries for the collective self-defence of Europe."

The immediate question is whether the UK and Europe will have a meaningful role in President Trump's negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. To ensure this, Starmer is working to assemble a multinational military force, which he refers to as the "coalition of the willing". The aim, Starmer says, is to protect Ukraine's skies, ports, and borders following any potential peace settlement.

"I don’t trust Putin. I’m sure Putin would try to insist that Ukraine should be defenceless after a deal because that gives him what he wants, which is the opportunity to go in again," he noted.

The UK is facing challenges on multiple fronts: Russia has rejected the proposal for a NATO peacekeeping force, and President Trump has yet to provide the security guarantees that Starmer argues are necessary for nations to commit troops.

Amidst the political and diplomatic uncertainties, Starmer stressed that staying ahead of the pack is his only option.

"If we only move at the pace of the most cautious," he said, "then we’re going to move very slowly and we’re not going to be in the position we need to be in."

Background:

• The group known as the coalition of the willing, which is laying the groundwork for securing a future post-war settlement, gathered in London in early March.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously stated that he will be in Paris next week for discussions.
• Moreover, senior military officers from the coalition met at the UK’s military headquarters on the outskirts of London on Thursday 15 March to discuss plans for deploying an international force to Ukraine.

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