British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated that he will ask European allies to intensify their economic efforts to weaken Russia’s defense industry, in the context of uncertainties regarding the Trump administration’s support for Ukraine.
Keir Starmer will address the issue at Friday’s meeting of the “Coalition of Will,” a group that brings together European countries that provide military support to Ukraine and are willing to guarantee Kiev’s security after the war, reports the dpa agency, quoted by Agerpres.
Starmer’s statements come after last week’s meeting at the White House between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the Financial Times, the talks turned into a “heated confrontation,” and Washington did not approve the sending of Tomahawk cruise missiles to Kiev.
Zelensky stated that the discussion was “positive,” but suggested that Trump may have avoided provoking the Kremlin before his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Budapest.
“In my opinion, he does not want an escalation with the Russians until he meets with them,” said the President of Ukraine.
Economic pressure on Moscow
Keir Starmer emphasized that the objective of the European alliance must be to keep Ukraine in a “position as strong as possible before, during and after any ceasefire,” accusing Russia of diplomatic procrastination.
“We must be firm in our support for Ukraine and I commit to intensifying our efforts to deteriorate Putin’s war machine,” said the British Prime Minister.
“Tyrants like Putin only respond to force. We need to increase the pressure on his economy and defense industry, as we did last week with a major package of sanctions until he is ready to make peace,” he added, reminding of the major package of sanctions adopted last week by the UK.
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