Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to join leaders and meet King Charles as UK and EU support
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party, has written in The Telegraph to call for an increase to defence spending among Nato countries. She welcomed Keir Starmer’s plans to increase domestic defence spending to 2.5% of national income by 2027 but said “that step cannot be the final one”. Starmer said the rise from the current 2.3% means £13.4bn more will be spent annually on defence after 2027. It will be paid for by cuts to to foreign aid.
In making his surprise announcement last week, the British prime minister said he wanted defence spending to rise to 3% of GDP in the next parliament, but this would only be guaranteed if his Labour party won the next general election, set for 2029.
The exchanges in the White House on Friday are not where that conversation ends. We have honest differences with the Trump administration, which must be resolved.
Because there can be no doubt that we are today living through the most dangerous times we have seen since the worst moments of the Cold War, such as the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Then, the US and the Soviet Union were on the brink of direct military confrontation. What was the lesson there? In the face of implacable US determination, the Russians backed down. Russia respects only hard force and willpower.
The prime minister reiterated his unwavering support for Ukraine, adding that the UK will always stand with them, for as long as it takes.
The prime minister restated his determination to finding a path that ends Russia’s illegal war and ensures a just and lasting peace that secures Ukraine’s future sovereignty and security.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/mar/02/ukraine-war-volodymyr-zelenskyy-keir-starmer-donald-trump-us-europe-eu-russia-defence-latest-live-news
Author : Yohannes Lowe
Publish date : 2025-03-02 08:44:00
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