LONDON (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed British ministers on Friday, a rare appearance by a foreign leader at a cabinet meeting that new Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes will underline London’s support for Kiev.
A day after hosting a forum of European leaders at Blenheim Palace, Starmer continued his bid to boost Britain’s role in international affairs by inviting Zelenskiy to address his cabinet of top ministers. The last foreign leader to do so was US President Bill Clinton in 1997, Starmer’s office said.
Welcomed to the meeting by a standing ovation and applause from British ministers, Zelenskiy renewed his call for Western allies to allow long-range strikes on Russia, saying Britain should try to convince its partners to lift restrictions on their use to lift.
“Right now we are missing the most important answer to this question and that is our long-range capability,” Zelenskiy said at the start of the meeting in Downing Street. “Please convince the other partners to lift the limits.”
NATO members have taken different approaches to how Ukraine can use the weapons they donate. Some have made clear that Kiev can use them to attack targets inside Russia, while the United States has taken a narrower approach, allowing its weapons to be used only just inside Russia’s border against targets supporting Russian military operations in Ukraine.
Starmer, who met Zelenskiy separately for 35 minutes for a wider bilateral discussion with officials, told Zelenskiy that Britain would speed up the delivery of aid to Ukraine.
His defense minister said earlier this month that deliveries promised by the former Conservative government would take place within 100 days.
“Ukraine is central to this administration’s agenda and always will be. Therefore, it is only fitting that President Zelensky delivers a historic speech to my cabinet,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the meeting.
Britain has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and Starmer quickly reaffirmed London’s commitment to Kiev after winning a landslide election earlier this month. He told Zelenskiy at NATO that despite the change of government, “there would be no change.” of approach”.
He said on Thursday that Britain would pursue a new plan to disrupt Russia’s efforts to circumvent shipping sanctions. On Thursday, Britain announced sanctions on eleven ships carrying Russian oil.
He also unveiled the Defense Export Assistance Treaty, to be signed by defense ministers, which will allow Ukraine to tap 3.5 billion pounds ($4.5 billion) in export financing to build both countries’ defense industrial bases. strengthen and stimulate production.
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