Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the UK this weekend to meet with Keir Starmer at a summit of European leaders, Downing Street has confirmed.
It is believed that the Ukrainian President will meet with the Labour leader to discuss matters of defence – as well as the critical minerals deal that Zelensky has struck with Donald Trump.
The US President has also confirmed that Zelensky will visit Washington DC this Friday to sign the deal that will allow Americans to access rare earth minerals exclusive to Ukrainian soil.
Speaking at a press conference in Downing Street on Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced that he will host “a number of countries” for defence discussions over the weekend.
Starmer said that he had spoken to the Ukrainian leader “a number of times”, including on Wednesday night and Saturday
PA
He said that he had spoken to the Ukrainian leader “a number of times”, including on Wednesday night and Saturday.
Starmer also mentioned that he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron this afternoon.
He added: “I am hosting a number of countries at the weekend for us to continue to discuss how we go forward together as allies in light of the situation that we face.”
The visit follows Starmer’s much-anticipated trip to the White House for his first meeting with Donald Trump since the President’s second inauguration – after Nigel Farage warned that there were “some very difficult issues” facing Keir Starmerahead of his visit.
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It also comes after Emmanuel Macron’s bilateral meeting with the Republican earlier this week.
During the meeting, Macron stressed the importance of security guarantees to maintain peace in Ukraine, displaying differing views from the President while maintaining friendly camaraderie with the leader of the free world.
This week, the UK hiked up defence spending two days ahead of the US-UK meeting, as Starmer promised to shell out 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 – just as Trump has been urging Europe to do.
Defence Secretary John Healey has indicated that the real increase in spending each year would be “something over £6billion” – rather than the initial £13.4billion Starmer named.
During the meeting, Macron stressed the importance of security guarantees to maintain peace in Ukraine
REUTERS
After the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) accused Labour of playing “silly games with numbers”, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch placed pressure on Starmer over his claim that his increase in defence spending would culminate in £13.4 billion more spent on defence each year.
“If you take the numbers for this financial year and then the numbers for the financial year 27/28 that’s £13.4 billion increase,” he told MPs, reiterating the same figure.
“That is the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, which will put us in a position to ensure the security and defence of our country and of Europe.”
Meanwhile, the Kremlin’s defence minister Sergey Lavrov has asserted that the actions of UK and France are simply “heating up the conflict” in Ukraine instead of searching for a genuine peace agreement.