Ukraine-Russia war latest: Starmer urges Europe not to accept a weak deal, says US vital in securing peace – UK Times

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday thanked foreign secretary David Lammy for his country’s role in encouraging Europe to provide for its own defence and push for peace in Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said.

During a call with Lammy on Monday, Rubio confirmed the United States is ready to negotiate to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and will continue working with the United Kingdom towards peace in Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

To much jeering, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage told the Commons that “it may be great irony that a Remainer prime minister used Brexit freedoms as effectively as he did yesterday”.

“Indeed, as Number 10 briefed, we are now in a unique position compared to the rest of Europe – and yes, it was a triumph,” he added.

Referring to the minerals deal that Zelensky pis due to sign with America, Mr Farage asked is that enough of a security guarantee or “does it mean that we need to send British troops?”.

Responding, Sir Keir Starmer insists that the “mineral deal is not enough on its own”.

“Can I just remind him – Russia is the aggressor, Zelenskyy is a war leader whose country has been invaded and we should all be supporting him, and not fawning over Putin.”

Upon being asked about the possibility of the US withdrawing military support for Ukraine, Starmer said he does not recognise those reports and as he understands, “that is not their position”.

However, he asked Stephen Flynn, of the SNP, to reconsider their stance on abandoning the nuclear deterrent.

He said: “If ever there’s a time to reaffirm support for the nuclear deterrent it is now.”

Tory MP James Cleverly has said he finds himself in the “strange and rather uncomfortable position of very much agreeing with the prime minister on everything he has said today.

“Whilst I often take great delight in criticism of the government, I think this weekend he has not really put a foot wrong,” the former foreign secretary said.

He asked Sir Keir Starmer to increase defence spending further to over 2.5 per cent of GDP and show Ukraine and allies that “we take our defence, the defence of our values and the defence of our friends seriously”.

Sir Keir Starmer has told the House of Commons that he has spoken to Justin Trudeau to reaffirm him of his “strong support” for Canada, as relations between his country and the US sour under Trump’s leadership.

Sir Keir Starmer says he held bilateral talks with his Canadian counterpart during the weekend’s Ukraine summit in London and “was able to assure him of our strong support for Canada, a close ally of ours, a strong supporter of Ukraine”.

Canada has “led the way” in much of the training of Ukrainian troops, he says, and Trudeau was “very welcome” at yesterday’s summit.

Sir Keir Starmer was directly challenged about his ambassador in the US lord Mandelson “freelancing on American television” appearing to support President Trump in the Ukraine issue.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey directly asked him if Mandelson was “speaking for the government” and if he was “freelancing”. Sir Keir though simply did not answer the question at all.

There is clearly some embarrassment there.

The Liberal Democrat leader has broken the cosy consensus in the House on trying to move ever close to the Trump White House.

He said that “we cannot rely on America” with Trump in charge and calls for the UK and Europe to move on.

Referring to the scenes on Friday afternoon in the Oval Office, Sir Ed Davey accused Trump of “aligning the US with Putin.”

However, Starmer came black saying “on the US I don’t agree with him”, adding that the US is still the UK’s most important ally and that our trade, intelligence and security is intertwined.

He said: “No two countries are as close as our two continues, it would be a mistake to suggest the weakening of that link would be the right way forward.”

Sir Keir Starmer reassured the Commons that he takes “none of this lightly” as he promised “boots on the ground and planes in the air” to defend peace in Ukraine after the agreement of a possible peace deal.

“I want to assure the house I take none of this lightly”, Sir Keir said. “No aspect of my role weights more heavily than the deployment of British troops in the service of defence and prosperity in Europe.

“Russia is a menace in our waters and skies… In this house we stand by Ukraine because it’s the right thing to do, but we also stand by them because its in our interests too.”

Donald Trump’s commitment to peace is “sincere” and should not be doubted, Sir Keir Starmer told the Commons.

On his visit to the US, the Prime Minister said: “I welcome the positive discussions we had on European security, including his clear support for Article 5 of Nato. I welcome the understanding from our dialogue that our two nations will work together on security arrangements for a lasting peace in Ukraine.

“I also welcome the president’s continued commitment to that peace, which nobody in this House should doubt for a second is sincere.”