Keir Starmer is scheduled to join Emmanual Macron at Armistice Day services in Paris, days after Donald Trump's re-election, with Ukraine and national defense among the topics of the two leaders' private talks. It is planned to include this in a sharp demonstration of European unity.
The visit will have the symbolic element of Mr Starmer becoming the first British leader to attend a national commemoration event in France since Winston Churchill in 1944.
The No. 10 party and the Elysée say they hope this will be a key moment in Europe for NATO's two main powers, France and the UK, amid concerns on the continent about the future of the alliance after President Donald Trump's re-election. It is said.
The Prime Minister will fly to Paris early Monday morning to attend an event with French and British veterans to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the liberation of France.
10 said the meeting between the two leaders “will reflect the close ties between our two countries, many of which were forged and strengthened by the sacrifices of British and French soldiers on the front line.” Ta.
No. 10 said he would discuss Ukraine and Gaza, although Trump's election was not formally part of preliminary discussions.
Whitehall officials have been tasked with examining how Mr Trump's victory will affect the final form of the Strategic Defense Review (SDR), due to be reported in the spring. Mr Starmer and Prime Minister Rachel Reeves are understood to be planning to set out a path ahead of the deadline for how the UK will meet its defense spending target of 2.5% of GDP among NATO members.
Mr Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy cited defense goals as a common ground with Mr Trump, who has repeatedly called on NATO countries to provide more funding and reduce their dependence on US spending.
President Trump has previously asked NATO allies to increase spending by 3%, a significant increase from the UK's current levels. Speaking on the campaign trail in August, he said: “We insist that all NATO countries have to spend at least 3%. We have to go up to 3%. 2% is the steal of the century, especially since we are paying the money.”
During the U.S. election campaign, he said he would find a solution to ending President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine “within a day,” but did not explain how. His running mate, J.D. Vance, has vocally opposed further funding to aid Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump's plan to end the conflict includes establishing an 800-mile demilitarized zone between Russian and Ukrainian forces, guarded by European forces. It was reported.
Brian Lanza, Trump's political adviser since the 2016 election, suggested on the BBC this weekend that Trump would force territorial concessions from Ukraine.
“when [Volodymyr] President Zelenskiy said that we only have to stop this fighting and there will only be peace, and if Crimea is returned, President Zelenskiy will be informed, Crimea is gone. ” But a spokesperson for President Trump's transition team said late Saturday that Lanza was not speaking on behalf of the president-elect.
On Sunday, British ministers said the government was considering all options regarding a possible change in the US approach to Ukraine.
Whitehall officials are “considering and planning for a range of scenarios,” Darren Jones told Sky News on Sunday. Mr Jones said the UK would not back down from its commitments. “We don't want to accept any idea that we're backing away from that idea. That's why we're giving them £3 billion a year and, you know, the financial situation here in the UK. “When you think about it, this is a difficult decision, but it's the right decision for us,” he said.
“Officials will be considering and planning for a range of scenarios, as they would under any government, to ensure the UK is in the strongest possible position.”
But Mr Jones said that while security and defense were a priority, it would mean “trade-offs” in other areas, pledging specifically to spend 2.5% of GDP on defense by the end of this parliament. He said he had no intention of doing so.
Military experts say the incoming Trump administration has given new impetus to the need for NATO allies to “mend fences.”
Dr Karin von Hippel, director of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said it was a symbolic moment of unity between the French president and Starmer.
“Now that Trump has won, it is important that the UK and the EU mend fences and build stronger relationships. The same applies to the UK’s bilateral relationships with European countries.
“The US will no longer be a reliable partner for European countries, including the UK. So it's important to do all the bridging and scenario planning you can now, including deciding where to push back if the US doesn't agree.”
Starmer will also meet in Paris on Monday with France's new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a former Brexit negotiator whom Starmer met several times as shadow Brexit secretary.
He plans to lay flowers at the war memorial near the Champs-Elysées and at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.
Mr Starmer said: 'I am honored to stand in solidarity with President Macron in Paris to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers of the First World War who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today. ” he said. “These events are essential to ensuring the memory of millions of young soldiers, sailors and airmen lives on for generations to come.”
Mr Starmer announced the visit, pledging £10m of government funding to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day on 8 May and 15 August next year, and tens of thousands of military personnel. promised an event to attend.
The prime minister has repeatedly said Britain's involvement in Ukraine will be “ironclad” regardless of the US president's approach, but Kiev officials have complained that Britain has not supplied additional long-range missiles. He told the Guardian that he felt it.
On Sunday, Britain's Chief of Defense Staff said around 1,500 Russian soldiers were being killed or injured every day. Admiral Tony Radakin said Russia was still paying an “extraordinary price” for Putin's invasion, with October its worst month of losses since the conflict began in February 2022.
