LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will host French President Emmanuel Macron for talks Thursday as the two leaders await the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president.
No. 10 Downing Street announced Wednesday that the pair would meet at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, and discuss Ukraine — a hot-button topic in the incoming U.S. administration — as well as artificial intelligence, economic growth and legal migration.
Both Macron and Starmer have been vocal supporters of Ukraine’s pushback against Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, and stressed the need for continued backing since the far more sceptical Trump’s November win. Trump has vowed to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, an idea given short shrift in European capitals.
Macron has also floated the idea of a post-war peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
The meeting comes days after the French president accused X boss and Trump ally Elon Musk of intervening “directly in elections” on the side of reactionary forces. Starmer’s week has been dominated by Musk’s direct attacks on the British prime minister and his government.
The meeting between the two leaders — who last met in Paris in November — also comes ahead of two big-ticket events, a U.K.-EU defense meeting which is taking place on the fringes of the informal EU summit on Feb 3, and France’s AI Action Summit on Feb. 10 and 11.
Starmer and Macron will dine together during Thursday’s visit to Chequers, No.10 said.
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