(AFP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden on Friday postponed a decision to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles supplied by Western countries at Russia, a plan that has triggered dire threats from Moscow over war with NATO.
Starmer told reporters at the White House that he had had “broad discussions about strategy” with Biden but that it was “not a meeting about specific capabilities.”
Before the meeting, Starmer had said officials would press Biden to support plans to send British Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia amid growing concerns from allies about the situation on the battlefield.
But the Labour leader suggested he would discuss the plans with Mr Biden “with a wider range of people” at the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.
Meeting with both sides' teams at the White House across a long table hung with US and British flags, Biden downplayed warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin that allowing Ukraine to launch nuclear weapons would mean the West was “at war” with Russia.
Asked by reporters about the comments, Biden said he “doesn't think much about Vladimir Putin.”
But while Biden said “it's clear Putin cannot win this war,” he is seen as reluctant to grant Ukraine's strong demands to allow it to use long-range US-made ATACMS missiles against Russian territory.
U.S. officials believe the missiles will have limited impact on Ukrainian military action and also want to avoid depleting Washington's own weapons stockpiles.
The two leaders said they also discussed the war in Gaza, where Britain recently halted arms supplies to Israel over fears it was violating international humanitarian law.
The United States, Israel's main military and diplomatic backer, has refrained from such measures.
According to a White House statement, Biden and Starmer agreed on their “firm commitment” to Israel but stressed the “urgent need” for a ceasefire and “the need for Israel to take further steps to protect civilians in Gaza”.
The White House had previously downplayed the likelihood of a decision on Ukraine being made during Starmer's visit on Friday, his second since taking office in July.
“We don't anticipate any major announcements on this front as a result of those discussions, certainly not from our side,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for more action from Kiev's Western allies.
Speaking in Kiev, President Zelensky accused Western countries of being “afraid” to even help Ukraine shoot down incoming missiles, as they did with Israel.
Zelensky added that he plans to meet with Biden “this month” to present a “winning plan” to end the two-and-a-half-year war with Russia.
Russia responded angrily to the possibility of Western countries supplying long-range weapons to a country it invaded in February 2022.
In another sign of rising tensions, Russia revoked the credentials of six British diplomats who London accused of espionage over “unfounded” allegations.
Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, separately warned that allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons would put NATO into “direct war with a nuclear-armed state”.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and US allies are anxiously awaiting the results of a tense US presidential election in November that could upend US policy towards Ukraine.
Biden is leaving office, but the election is a close race between Democratic political successor Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.
Trump has repeatedly praised Putin and during Tuesday's debate with Harris refused to take sides on the war, saying only that he wanted “the war to stop.”
Starmer denied he was worried about a Trump presidency and said there was an urgent need to support Ukraine in the coming weeks and months “no matter what timetables are in place in other countries”.
