UK on Ukraine: All wars end in negotiation
Minister says UK support for Ukraine hasn't changed after Starmer openly talks about negotiated settlement.
LONDON — Britain’s government argued it has not changed position on the war in Ukraine Tuesday after Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke openly about strengthening Kyiv’s hand in peace talks.
In a foreign policy speech Monday night, Starmer told an audience in London that the U.K. “must continue to back Ukraine and do what it takes to support their self-defense for as long as it takes.”
He said such a move would “put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence — and right to choose their own future.”
Starmer’s comments sparked immediate questions from opposition parties in the U.K. Tuesday, given British Tory and Labour administrations have both been staunch backers of Ukraine and resisted talking about peace settlements. It comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has spoken about ending the war “in 24 hours,” prepares to take office in January.
Granted an urgent question in the House of Common Tuesday, Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said MPs needed “some clarity from the government on its approach to Ukraine” after Starmer’s comments. The Conservative frontbencher asked whether framing the war “in the lens of negotiation” represents “a departure from the current approach.”
Responding for the government, Foreign Office Minister Catherine West insisted there had been no change in the government’s support for Ukraine. “We have always said we will support Ukraine to achieve a just peace on its own terms,” she told lawmakers. “It’s for Ukraine to determine its position in any future discussions.”
Pressed on Starmer’s comments by journalists Tuesday, a spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street said the PM was “obviously also making the point that all wars end in some form of negotiation, and we’ll make sure that we put Ukraine in the best possible position.”
They added: “Ultimately, it would be up to Ukraine to determine how its war comes to an end, and we will put them the best possible position to achieve a just peace on their own terms.”
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