Starmer (Blair 2) wants war

 Sun 10:52 pm +01:00, 15 Sep 2024  

posted by Tapestry

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces mounting pressure to break away from the US and speed up the decision about whether to grant permission for Ukraine to use British-made missiles to strike Russia.

The UK and US governments are being lobbied by Ukraine to give the green light to the use long-range Storm Shadow missiles to hit Russian bases.

But hesitancy over whether to give approval has come amid threats of retaliatory escalation from Russian President Vladimir Putin who said it would trigger “war” between his nation and Nato.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Sunday that talks were ongoing as he batted away threats of escalation coming from Moscow, saying the UK and its allies would not be bullied by Putin.

Hinting that the UK was not deterred, he said: “Putin said ‘don’t send tanks’. We sent them. Putin said ‘don’t send any missiles’. We sent them. Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons. What he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”

Foreign Office sources refused to be drawn on whether the UK would consider acting unilaterally.

A source said: “We’re not going to discuss the details. As the Foreign Secretary has said anything operationally would only assist Putin as we head into the winter.”

Starmer flew to Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden about the issue this week but a final decision was not made, with the US said to be holding back permission until Ukraine presents its strategy at the upcoming meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

This is despite pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who has, shared his frustration at the continued delay in a lengthy statement.

On Sunday he urged “decisiveness” to “bring a just end to this war”.

“This week, the Russians have launched around 30 missiles of various types, more than 800 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 300 strike drones against Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

“Ukraine needs strong support from our partners to defend lives against Russian terror-air defense, long-range capabilities, support for our warriors.”

Lammy told the BBC talks would continue with Starmer, Biden and Zelensky at the UNGA in New York later this month.

“It’s important that as allies supporting Ukraine, we have a shared strategy to win going forward,” he said. “Now we’ve been discussing this with the United States and with other key allies, but of course, we head to the UN General Assembly, where we will all meet with Zelensky in just under 12 days’ time.”

But, in The Sunday Times, the Prime Minister faced calls from senior Tories to break away from the US and give permission for missiles to be used even without US agreement.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson and ex-defence secretaries Grant Shapps, Ben Wallace, Gavin Williamson, Penny Mordaunt and Liam Fox pushed for the change.

The suggestion is that the US and France, where parts of the missiles are manufactured, could give the UK the nod for the weapons to be used without providing their own resources.

Starmer is reportedly planning to lobby Italy, France and Germany in the coming days to secure agreement that Ukraine can fire missiles into Russia, after the US deferred the issue, according to ITV’s Robert Peston.

Former head of the British Army, Lord Richard Dannatt, told i the UK should permit the use of the Storm Shadow missiles irrespective of US permission.

“We should just start allowing them to use Storm Shadow with no announcement. Just do it. The US may then follow later. That was what happened over Main Battle Tanks. We agreed first – others followed,” the crossbench peer said.

But Lord Alan West – the ex-head of the Navy – argued that the UK, US and NATO should stay “aligned” on such decisions “wherever possible”.

The Labour peer said: “Historically, there are examples where we weren’t aligned with the US. We didn’t sign up to get involved in Vietnam, even though the US did.

“There will be occasions in which one’s national interest overrides other considerations, but we are nowhere near that on the Ukraine issue at the moment.”

Writing for i, former Tory MP and chair of the defence committee Tobias Ellwood that the delay in Western countries granting Ukraine its requests has prolonged the conflict.

He warned Russian President Vladimir Putin was relying on “the timidity of the West” and said this hesitancy suggests the UK and its allies do not have an understanding of the threat Russia poses.

Starmer urged to break away from US as pressure mounts over Russia threats (msn.com)