LOS ANGELES.–U.K. Prime Minister Sir. Keir Starmer said that 78-year-old President Donald Trump “changed the global conversation” on Ukraine, urging his EU colleagues to apply more sanctions on the Kremlin to pressure 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin into making more concessions. Meeting with Trump on Feb. 27 at the White House, Starmer will find out that all his rhetoric designed to show he has clout in Ukraine’s future is largely hyperbole. U.K. decided to get out of the European Union [EU] Jan. 31, 2000, no longer having much clout on the world stage. While it’s questionable where the EU has any more clout than the U.K., Brexit isolated the U.K. on the world stage. Starmer finds Ukraine the perfect place to grandstand before Trump completes a peace deal with Putin over Ukraine’s objections. Starmer acts like the U.K. plays a major role in Ukraine peace talks.
Starmer has focused on the counterproductive step of slapping Russia with more sanctions, something tried before that hasn’t worked. Former President Joe Biden, 82, actually believed that draconic sanctions against Moscow would stop Russia from invading Ukraine. Biden claims the Feb. 24, 2022 Russian invasion was “unprovoked and unjustified,” his Orwellian way of saying, “don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with it.” But looking back at what led to the invasion, Biden ignored Kremlin objections to arming Ukraine to the teeth with U.S. weapons, all designed to fight a war with the Kremlin. When the invasion happened, Biden insisted with his national security team that the war with “unprovoked and unjustified,” but what do you call arming Ukraine against Kremlin objections? Biden most certainly provoked Putin’s invasion by ignoring calls for discussions.
Now Starmer wants to get into the act meeting with Trump to show the U.K. has relevance in the ongoing peace talks, currently happening in Riyadh between Russia and the U.S. Starmer said the G7 “should be ready to take on more risk,” in sanctioning Russia, something the G7 wants to avoid at all costs. Trump has already talked of returning Russia to the G7 and G20 something removed after the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion. Starmer isn’t blind to the fact that Trump is in the process of resetting U.S.-Russian relations, undoing the damaging foreign policy of his predecessor. So, when Starmer talks about more sanctions, especially in the G7, it’s not something Trump or anyone in the G7 want. Starmer comes late to the table, knowing the Trump’s team works feverishly to complete a rare earth mineral deal with Ukraine which would guarantee Ukraine for post-war security.
British pride and hubris drive Starmer’s trip to the White House, trying to present himself as a tough anti-Putin force on the other side of the Atlantic. Starmer’s EU partners actually don’t want him talking about more punitive measures to Russia, knowing the Trump has moved on to normalize U.S.-Russian relations. “President Trump has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks,” Starmer said. Saying Ukraine “must have a seat at the table,” Starmer shows his irrelevance in current peace talks, but, more importantly, post-war security. Trump has Putin accepting the possibility of some EU or British troops staying far removed from the Russian border in any post-war security scenario. Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky is terrified about Russia reneging on its peace deal. Trump has the ability to keep Putin honest in any peace agreement.
Bringing Foreign Secretary David Lammy to the White House, Starmer hopes to underscore the U.K.’s commitment to a just and lasting peace. “Every military supply line disrupted, every rouble blocked, and every enabler of Putin’s aggression exposed is a step toward ad just and lasting peace,” Lammy told the House of Commons. But the EU is rapidly processing Trump’s change in leadership and direction, resetting U.S.-Russian relations. If Trump moves to end sanctions with the Kremlin, including the Russian oil embargo, Starmer would find himself out on the limb, with the bulk of the EU following Trump’s lead of normalizing relations with the Kremlin. U.K. officials are in no position of knowing what a just and lasting peace looks like in Ukraine. Zelensky has made many demands, most of which are unrealistic and counterproductive.
Starmer’s meeting with Trump should remind the British leader not to get too ahead of himself or full of himself, as Trump and Putin negotiate an end to the Ukraine War. Trump sees the mineral deal in Ukraine as a perfect way of letting Putin know that the U.S. under Trump plans to control Zelensky and his propensity to wage war with the Kremlin. With a long-term rare earth mineral deal, it benefits the U.S., Ukraine and Russia, knowing that Trump would contain voices in the EU and U.K. that continue to back Biden’s misguided foreign policy track with the Kremlin. EU and U.K. officials were reluctant to go along with Biden’s punitive economic sanctions against Russia but wanted no part in Biden’s proxy war with the Kremlin. Starmer knows he can protest only so much before he’s the odd man out, as the U.S. and EU move on from the Ukraine War.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
