“Starmer insists on one-on-one talks with Biden, who is stepping down as US president, when they both attend the G20 summit”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
The prime minister is pushing for one-on-one talks with Biden, the outgoing US president, when they both attend the G20 summit in Brazil next week.
Starmer is also expected to say Ukraine should finally get permission to deploy Storm Shadow long-range missiles deep into Russia, something Biden opposes.
Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the possibility of changing the US position on Storm Shadows during talks in Paris on Monday, according to The Telegraph.
The two leaders spent 20 minutes talking about Ukraine face-to-face, without a large delegation of aides, indicating the political sensitivity of the discussion.
According to a Downing Street representative, the leaders began by discussing the situation in Ukraine, including how to ensure that Ukraine enters the winter from the strongest possible position.
Western allies appear to be working on two fronts – finances and arms – in an effort to push Biden to go further in supporting Ukraine than planned in his final two months in office.
Read also: Biden pledged to spend every dollar to support Ukraine while in office – Kirby
There are fears in European capitals that Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, will force Ukraine to give up territories held by Russia in exchange for a peace agreement.
Trump promised to end the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia invaded, on the “first day” of his presidency and criticized Biden’s billions of dollars in financial support for Kyiv.
In October, US President Joe Biden announced the provision of a $20 billion loan to Ukraine, which is going to be repaid with profits from frozen Russian assets. Subsequently, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen clarified that the Group of Seven is going to provide Ukraine with $50 billion in loans by the end of this year, and the United States will provide Ukraine with a $20 billion loan.
Earlier, the Pentagon announced that by January 20 – the end of Joe Biden’s presidential term, they intend to use all remaining funds for programs to support Ukraine. It is about 6 billion dollars.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, as of October 15, the United States has allocated more than $59.1 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.