Starmer urged to face as much as Trump’s ‘torrent of lies’ as he accuses Britain of doing nothing to finish Ukraine struggle | EUROtoday

Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to face as much as Donald Trump’s “torrent of lies” when he visits the United States subsequent week, because the president accused Britain of “doing nothing” to finish the struggle in Ukraine.

As world outrage over the US president’s chaotic place on the battle grows, the prime minister has been issued a stark warning over the state of the transatlantic alliance and has been urged to problem the president within the “strongest possible terms” when he sits down with him on US soil.

It comes after Mr Trump was broadly condemned for wrongly claiming that Kyiv began the struggle and for describing Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator”. In his newest intervention, the US president claimed “nobody’s done anything” to finish the struggle, after the US this week started peace talks with Russia that excluded Ukraine.

Asked about subsequent week’s visits by French president Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir to Washington, Mr Trump advised Fox News: “They didn’t do anything either [to end the war]. The war’s going on, no meetings with Russia, no nothing.”

While the prime minister has expressed solidarity with Mr Zelensky as “Ukraine’s democratically elected leader”, he has been urged to go additional when he comes nose to nose with Mr Trump subsequent week.

“It’s time for Starmer to stand up for Britain and our allies in Europe”, Liberal Democrat chief Sir Ed Davey advised The Independent.

Warning that Mr Trump’s phrases “could have been written in Moscow”, Sir Ed added: “Trump accusing Ukraine of being responsible for the war must be where we draw the line.”

Meanwhile, former Tory defence secretary Sir Gavin Williamson mentioned that “we cannot let fake news and a false narrative become accepted”.

“That has to be rebuffed at every moment. And if that causes some people offence, well, that’s their problem”, he advised The Independent.

Their feedback come amid warnings from former Tony Blair spin physician Alastair Campbell that Mr Trump’s attraction to Vladimir Putin is “born of his desire to be every bit as rich, unchecked and authoritarian”.

Mr Trump is a “pathological liar, a narcissist” and is “concerned only about himself, his wealth and his power”, Mr Campbell wrote in The Independent on Friday. He additionally accused the US president of unleashing a “torrent of lies” in regards to the Ukraine struggle.

However, Jack Straw, who served as Labour residence secretary from 1997 to 2001 and overseas secretary from 2001 to 2006, warned the federal government towards “virtue signalling” with regards to Mr Trump.

He mentioned Britain ought to construct on the present relationships between cupboard ministers and the Republican administration, relatively than posturing.

“[Trump] is the single most powerful individual in the world. We’ve got to work round that. And I should think the prime minister and the foreign secretary understand that they’ve got to work around that”, he advised The Independent.

It comes amid rising pessimism over the state of the transatlantic alliance and concern over the Republican’s dedication to defending Europe.

Sir Ed urged the prime minister to just accept that Mr Trump is “no longer a reliable partner in Ukraine or Europe’s defence”, calling for Britain to spice up defence spending past 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Meanwhile, Sir Vince Cable, former Lib Dem chief and enterprise secretary underneath the coalition authorities, warned that the US “in many ways is a bigger threat to [Britain] than traditional threats”, pointing to Mr Trump’s determination to publicly cosy as much as Mr Putin.

Sir Vince warned that the US president’s newest remarks haven’t solely put Britain in “an extraordinarily difficult position”, however have additionally made the Western world “look absolutely ridiculous”. He urged Britain to work extra carefully with Europe to attain autonomy on their defence capabilities.

“We’ve been spending three years giving support to Ukraine, and now suddenly, we’re told we’re on the wrong side”, he mentioned.

There has been rising stress on the prime minister, who’s attempting to behave as a bridge between Europe and the US, to make sure he doesn’t alienate allies within the EU.

Anand Sundar, of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) assume tank, warned that Europeans ought to “no longer harbour any illusions about the transatlantic relationship, which has been irreparably damaged”.

“The Trump administration is fundamentally at odds with European governments ideologically, and no amount of coddling will change that.

“So even as they plan Starmer’s trip to DC, the UK government needs to immediately start preparing to defend Ukraine and Europe without the US”, he advised The Independent.

While he inspired the prime minister to enchantment to the president in non-public, Mr Sundar reminded Sir Keir that Britain’s “geopolitical future will be decided in Ukraine and in Europe, not across the Atlantic”.

“This is where Starmer should look for allies”, he added.

The warnings come simply days after European nations met in Paris in a scramble to spice up their defence spending after stress from the US, and to answer Mr Trump’s quickly shifting place on the Ukraine struggle.

American and Russian officers, in the meantime, met in Saudi Arabia for preliminary talks on ending the battle, with none Ukrainian illustration.

Sir Keir, who attended Monday’s Paris assembly, has repeatedly harassed that there may be “no decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine”.

He has known as for the US to supply a safety “backstop” to any peace settlement, in addition to proposing sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as a part of a deal. However, different European nations have resisted discussing the chance.

While Mr Trump has mentioned he’s “all for” the promise to place British troops in Ukraine, however the US doesn’t have to deploy peacekeeping troops as “we’re very far away”.