Nato countries should “put Ukraine in the best possible position”, Sir Keir Starmer has said when asked about the UK granting permission for Kyiv to use Storm Shadow missiles in Russia.
The Prime Minister met US President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday for talks on giving Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles to target Russian airfields and military bases, but no decision was reached.
Last year, the UK donated Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, but the weapons remain off limits beyond Ukraine’s borders despite repeated requests from Kyiv.
During a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, Sir Keir was asked about comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia”.
Sir Keir told reporters in Rome: “I think it is important for us to start from the fundamental position, which is that this is an illegal war started by Russia and, as a result, Ukraine has the right to self defence, and we have all – Italy, the UK and other allies, Nato allies in particular – been standing with Ukraine.”
He added: “It’s a war against the values of democracy, of freedom and the rule of law, which apply to all of us in our respective countries, but across all of the allies. That is why we’ve supplied capability, we’ve supplied training, we’ve supplied money, and there are further commitments to be made recently in relation to all of those.
“I think it’s very important as a matter of principle that we put Ukraine in the best possible position, and that’s what we’ve been discussing. We’ve had the opportunity today to touch on that.
“I had the opportunity in recent days to touch on that. I’m not going to go into individual capabilities. You wouldn’t expect me to do that, but the principle framework, I think, is absolutely right, and we’ll continue to have our discussions in relation to it.”
Ms Meloni shared Sir Keir’s commitment to Ukraine’s defence, but said permission for long-range missiles is the responsibility of individual countries.
She said: “With regards to Ukraine, of course, Kyiv, it is very important for us that Kyiv has the very best conditions to sit at the peace table. And this is exactly what we’ve been doing right from the start, and what we’re trying to do to guarantee the best conditions to achieve this.
“And with regards to the authorisation of using long-range missiles, these are decisions which are made by single countries which provide these weapons, bearing in mind their constitution and their legal framework. In Italy this authorisation, as you know today, as of yet, is not debatable, but these are all decisions which we fully share with our allies.”
Senior Tories have pushed for the UK to give Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with Storm Shadow missiles even without US agreement.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has also backed Kyiv’s right to strike at targets in Russia.
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