British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden will discuss in Washington on Friday whether kyiv should be allowed to use long-range missiles against Russia, ahead of a US presidential election with high stakes for Ukraine.
kyiv is demanding that its allies lift restrictions to allow it to strike deep into Russian soil military targets deemed “legitimate”, such as air bases from which planes bombing Ukraine take off.
But Vladimir Putin said Thursday that allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with longer-range missiles would mean that “NATO countries are at war with Russia.”
According to British media, Joe Biden, who fears a nuclear conflict, is ready to allow Ukraine to deploy British and French missiles using American technology, but not the American missiles themselves.
The talks come at a tense time in the midst of the U.S. presidential campaign. In a debate this week against Democratic rival Kamala Harris, Republican candidate Donald Trump repeatedly refused to say he hoped kyiv would win the war against Russia.
“I want the war to stop,” he simply said.
In this visit, his second to Washington since taking office in July, Keir Starmer is due to meet Joe Biden in the Oval Office at 4:30 p.m. (2030 GMT). “These are strategic meetings to discuss Ukraine and the Middle East,” the British leader said on Thursday.
Last week, the Starmer government announced the suspension of around 30 out of a total of 350 arms export licences to Israel, saying there was “a risk” that they would be used in violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
Israel’s primary military supporter, the United States, has refused to criticize London’s decision. But according to the American media outlet Politico, Washington asked London what it would take to change its decision. The answer: a ceasefire in Gaza.
– “Defend yourself effectively” –
But it is Ukraine that will remain at the center of the discussions. On Tuesday, Joe Biden assured that the United States was “working” to authorize Ukraine to use longer-range missiles against Russia.
US and British Foreign Ministers Antony Blinken and David Lammy made a rare joint visit to kyiv on Wednesday.
“We will adapt if necessary, particularly with regard to the means at Ukraine’s disposal to defend itself effectively against Russian aggression,” the US Secretary of State said the following day in Poland.
But Vladimir Putin warned Western powers: “This would change the very nature of the conflict.”
Washington currently allows kyiv to strike only Russian targets in occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly linked to Moscow’s combat operations.
Biden has strongly supported Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, with billions of dollars in aid. But he has been reluctant to speed up arms deliveries, as Ukraine had to wait this year to receive F-16 jets.
With the US election approaching, the clock is ticking for kyiv, faced with the possibility of a victory for Donald Trump, neck and neck in the polls with Kamala Harris.
During the debate, the Republican candidate, who has often praised Vladimir Putin, pledged to reach a deal to end the war if elected “even before” he officially becomes president. A deal that many Ukrainians fear would force them to accept that Russia keeps the territories it conquered.
Kamala Harris, for her part, promised to continue to firmly support Ukraine, in line with her current administration.
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