UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer did not signal any decision on allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia after talks with US President Joe Biden in Washington.
When asked if he had persuaded Biden to allow Ukraine to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, Keir said they had had “a long and productive discussion on several fronts, including Ukraine, as you would expect, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific”.
The White House said they also expressed “deep concern about Iran and North Korea’s provision of lethal weapons to Russia”.
Addressing reporters ahead of his meeting with Starmer at the White House, Biden said: “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin”.
Asked if he was intimidated by Putin’s threats of a potential war with Nato, Starmer said “The quickest way to resolve” the war in Ukraine “lies through what Putin does”.
Sir Keir said the White House meeting with Biden was an opportunity to discuss the strategy for Ukraine, “not just a particular step or tactic”.
The pair also discussed the situation in the Middle East, where the Israel-Gaza war has been raging for nearly a year, and “other areas across the world”, Sir Keir added.
He told reporters they would get another opportunity to discuss these issues at the United Nations General Assembly next week.
To date, the US and UK have not permitted Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets inside Russia, for fear of escalation.
The UK previously said Ukraine had a “clear right” to use British-provided weapons for “self-defense” which “does not preclude operations inside Russia”, following Kyiv’s surprise cross-border incursion last month.
