LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised Washington’s suspension of intelligence-sharing and military aid with Kyiv in a call with U.S. President Donald Trump Monday.
According to a readout of the call provided by Starmer’s office, the British leader said he hoped U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia this week — aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia — would lead the U.S. to reverse course.
It came as No. 10 Downing Street announced Starmer would host a fresh meeting of countries considering shoring up a peace agreement under a “coalition of the willing” Saturday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said of the Trump-Starmer call: “The prime minister said he hoped there would be a positive outcome to the talks that would enable U.S. aid and intelligence sharing to be restarted.”
Trump and Starmer enjoyed a warm meeting at the Oval Office last month — just before the U.S. president publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. He then cut off military aid to Ukraine and stopped intelligence-sharing with the country, which was invaded by Russia in 2022.
On the eve of the talks in Saudi Arabia, Trump said the U.S. had “just about” ended the suspension of intelligence-sharing when asked by reporters, but declined to give further details.
The conversation between Trump and Starmer came as the U.K. prime minister tries to place himself at the heart of Europe’s efforts to shore up a Ukrainian peace deal — without angering Trump.
He has attempted to convene a “coalition of the willing” made up of countries prepared to deploy military assets to help police an agreement, but has also continued to press for security guarantees from the U.S. to prevent further Russian aggression.
No. 10 announced Monday that Starmer will convene a second, virtual meeting of countries ready to support a cease-fire with military support this coming Saturday.
Starmer’s official spokesman told reporters on Monday: “The prime minister is to host a second leaders’ meeting of the coalition of the willing.
“It will be a virtual meeting — we will set out details of that in due course. We’re expecting that on Saturday.”
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