Downing Street Says There Should Be No Limitations On Ukraine Joining NATO
3 min read
Downing Street has said “no limitations” should be placed on Ukraine’s ability to join NATO as Keir Starmer and other European leaders prepare to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington.
It comes after Trump said there should be "no going into NATO by Ukraine".
On Monday, the Prime Minister will travel to the US alongside allies, including NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The group will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with Trump in the White House after the latter held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday on bringing the war in Ukraine to an end.
The meeting — the first between US and Russian presidents since 2021 — failed to produce an agreement, but Trump said the pair made "great progress".
It has since been reported that Putin demanded parts of eastern Ukraine in exchange for an end to fighting.
Posting on the social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, Trump said Zelensky could end the war “almost immediately” or he “can continue to fight”, but said there was "no going into NATO by Ukraine".
Speaking on Monday morning, however, Prime Minister Starmer's official spokesperson said “no limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or in its co-operation with third countries".
They told reporters: “Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to the EU for NATO.
“Our priority now is working to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and today's meetings will be an important part of that ongoing process to secure a peace.
“Ukraine's future matters to us all, from the price of food in our shops to our national security and upholding the freedoms we value, which is why we must secure a just and lasting peace that ensures the Ukrainian people never have to live in fear again.”
In an interview with NBC, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not believe new sanctions on Russia were “going to force” Putin to accept a ceasefire.
But Downing Street said sanctions were a useful tool to pressure Russia to end its illegal war in Ukraine. A spokesperson said sanctions were delivering a “punishing” impact on the Russian economy and were “tightening the screws [on] President Putin's war machine.”
Despite the apparent differences in position, the spokesperson insisted that Starmer and Trump were working closely together on bringing peace to Ukraine.
On Saturday, Starmer praised Trump's efforts to secure a peace deal, saying that the US President had "brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine".
European leaders have requested a ceasefire before deciding to end the war in Ukraine. However, Trump has said he is intent on brokering a permanent solution.
Health minister Stephen Kinnock said this morning that it was important that any agreement reached has Zelensky's support.
“It is their territory, their country. We will support President Zelensky in whatever he determines. Our job then is to have that ironclad security guarantee," he told LBC.
Meanwhile, Reform UK's Deputy Leader Richard Tice has suggested that Ukraine should not be admitted to NATO if it is an absolute red line for Putin in peace talks.
In an interview with the Latika Takes Podcast, shared with PoliticsHome, he said Kyiv had to be prepared to accept an “uncomfortable compromise” for an “enduring settlement".
Tice, who also serves as Reform’s foreign affairs spokesman, said that Western security guarantees were more important than Kyiv’s entry into the trans-Atlantic defence alliance, particularly if it proved a deal-breaker over any ceasefire.
