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Now it’s Keir Starmer’s turn.
After France’s Emmanuel Macron navigated his meeting with President Trump on Monday, making the most rockiest shoals, but making little progress, Mr Starmer, the British Prime Minister, will meet Mr Trump on Thursday to beg the United States not to leave Ukraine.
Mr Starmer will face the same balancing act as Mr Macron, without the benefit of the years of interactions dating back to 2017, when Mr Trump greeted the newly elected French president with a white joint handshake who was the first of many unforgettable Hands -and the moments.
Unlike Mr Macron, Mr Starmer will reach the Oval Office armed with a promise to increase his country’s military spending to 2.5 % of gross domestic product by 2027 and 3 % within a decade. This deals with one of Mr Trump’s main complaints: his claim that Europeans are free riders, resorting to under an American security umbrella.
To finance republishing, Mr Starmer will return Britain’s development abroad, a more mediocre -scale move by Mr Trump’s disassembly by the United States Organization for International Development. Mr Starmer’s motivation is budget not ideological – he says the cuts are sad – but Mr Trump may approve.
British officials said Mr Starmer will combine his gestures to build confidence in defense with a strong demonstration of support for President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine and a warning not to rush to a peace deal with President V. Russia that fails to establish security guarantees for Ukraine.
“The main thing is that we do not want to repeat previous mistakes to deal with Putin, to go for a truce or ceasefire that does not turn into a sturdy peace,” said Peter Mandelson, who became British Ambassador before Washington before three weeks and helped organize the visit.
Mr Mandelson said Mr Starmer had a different style than Mr Macron, who called Mr Trump “Dear Donald” and hit him on his knee, even when he corrected him in his claim that Ukraine would help help him. in Europe. But Mr Mandelson said that the least demonstration of his boss would also be effective.
“The prime minister has his own personal relationship with President Trump who was founded in a series of telephone calls and meetings,” Mr Mandelson said in an interview. “Keir Starmer is a clearly spoken, simple guy who is absolutely capable of talking about the truth about power, and in this way, in a way that will allow the president to see what he and the US come out of any situation ”.
Mr Mandelson noted Defense Minister Pete Hegseth for praise after Mr Starmer announced increased military spending. Mr. Hegseth described it as a “powerful step from a constant partner”.
Whether Mr Trump is more favorable to Mr Starmer’s arguments for Ukraine and Russia is another matter, though the president will also deal with another piece of news: that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has attributed to American pressure and has been agreed to an agreement that converts revenue from certain mineral resources.
Mr Trump told reporters that Mr Zelensky is pushing for his own Oval Office meeting on Friday, in which he and the president could sign the deal. If this meeting is confirmed, Mr Starmer would make the past between two high profile meetings-with Mr Macron and Mr Zelensky.
However, Mr Starmer’s hurriedly assembled commitment to defense could give him credibility with Mr Trump, incomparable by other European leaders, because he reminds him that his labor party has won the landslide of the majority of Parliament last July.
Analysts said it was difficult to imagine France or Germany moving so quickly, given the political uncertainty in both countries. Mr Macron’s control in the France parliament has been eroded by the election last summer. Friedrich Merz, Chancellor-designs in Germany, broadcasts a coalition together after his victory last Sunday.
“Now the focus will turn to France and Germany properly to find out if they can also accelerate on the plate,” said Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director General of the Royal United Services Institute, a research team in London. “Europeans should take responsibility for their defense very soon.”
Mr Starmer has also drawn a line between himself and Mr Merz for the future of the transatlantic alliance. Speaking after his victory, Mr Merz said the Trump administration “is not very interested in Europe’s fate”. He said his priority would be to build a “independent European defense capacity”.
Mr Starmer, on the other hand, confirmed Britain’s links with the United States. “We have to reject any false choice between our allies, between one side of the Atlantic or the other,” he told Parliament on Tuesday, adding: “It’s a special relationship. It’s a strong relationship. I want to go from power to power. ”
British officials said the prime minister is also hoping to announce the cooperation for advanced technology, including artificial intelligence, with Mr Trump. They said that his focus would be in the future, not to reappear issues such as the highlighting of his President Zelensky as a dictator or his claim that Ukraine began the war with Russia.
“It is not the style of Starmer to have exchanges with words or semantics,” Mr Mandelson said. “He just wants to do things – to make sure that as the closest allies of the other, we know what the other side will do.”
