Biden meets Starmer to discuss Ukraine, Israel

US President Joe Biden met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Friday to discuss support for Ukraine and Israel and security in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The United States is determined to stand with you to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. It is clear that Putin will not prevail in this war,” Biden told Starmer.

The meeting comes as Western allies consider changing their policy to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons supplied by the United States and Britain to strike Russian territory. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy were in Kiev earlier this week, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has advocated for the deployment of such weapons, including the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and British Storm Shadow missiles, to target Russia.

“Let’s count on at least a few strong decisions. For us, this is very important for today,” Zelensky told reporters in kyiv on Wednesday, responding to a question about whether transatlantic allies would give the green light to deeper strikes into Russia.

During his visit to the Ukrainian capital, Blinken stressed that Washington had adapted and “would adjust as necessary” its support for Ukraine, in response to Moscow’s evolving battlefield strategy. He made similar remarks in May, just before the Biden administration eased restrictions to allow the use of U.S. weapons in cross-border attacks, but not against targets deep inside Russia.

Earlier this week, Biden indicated he was open to further easing of restrictions, telling a reporter that his administration was “working on that right now.”

However, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday ahead of the meeting that U.S. policy regarding Ukraine’s long-range strike capability in Russia had not changed. “I don’t expect there to be any announcement on that coming out of today’s meeting,” he said.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said Ukraine is already capable of striking Russia with its own home-grown systems, including drones. Speaking at a meeting of allied defense ministers last week, Austin said he did not believe providing Kiev with a long-range strike capability would be “decisive” in the war.

Public discussions and conflicting messages from different parts of the administration suggest a policy shift may be underway, said Dalibor Rohac, an expert on transatlantic relations.

“I think we will get to a point where the Ukrainians will use missiles deep inside Russian territory,” he told VOA. “The question is whether that will make a significant difference in the conduct of the war.”

Moscow has warned that arming Kiev with long-range weapons would lead to an escalation of the conflict beyond Ukraine. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that authorizing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are at war with Russia. … If that is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us.”

Asked about the Russian president’s threat to NATO, Biden said: “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.”

Biden and his NATO allies must consider how much they are willing to risk an escalation of war to increase pressure on Russia, a nuclear power, said William Pomeranz, an expert on Russian studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

“I don’t think they know the answer yet,” he told VOA.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Starmer said he and Biden had “come to a strong position” but sidestepped the issue of long-range missiles for Ukraine.

“This was not a meeting about a particular capability. That’s not what we focused on today,” he said. “We wanted to give ourselves the space, the time, that we did, to have a strategic discussion so that tactical decisions could be considered within the broader strategy.”

No British weapons for Israel

The leaders also discussed prospects for a ceasefire in the 11-month war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

“We will discuss our work to secure a deal in the Middle East, free key hostages held by Hamas, establish an immediate ceasefire, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Biden said at the start of his meeting.

London is generally in line with Washington on its support for Israel. Last week, Starmer’s government suspended arms export licences to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza, following a review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.

The Biden administration has resisted pressure from progressive Democrats and Muslim and Arab Americans to enact an arms embargo on Israel.

Around 30 arms licences used in the ongoing Gaza conflict have been suspended out of a total of around 350 UK licences granted to Israel. The suspension follows months of protests at British arms factories.

The move is less drastic than that of other countries, including Belgium, Italy, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands, which have announced a total ban on arms exports to Israel in recent months over fears that the weapons could be used against Palestinian civilians. British defence exports to Israel are also relatively small, at around $24m in 2023.

Biden and Starmer also discussed the Iranian threat. In recent weeks, the White House has highlighted Iran’s role in the conflict in the Middle East and Europe. The White House has said that Iran is not only the main sponsor of Hamas in its war against Israel, but is also supplying short-range ballistic weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.

The leaders expressed “deep concern about Iran and North Korea’s provision of lethal weapons to Russia and China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base,” the White House said in a readout of the meeting.

Strategically aligned

Friday’s meeting is the second in-person encounter with Biden since Starmer took office in July.

“I think we have historically demonstrated the strength of our relationship and that we are strategically aligned. We have common cause on these global issues,” Starmer said.

“After a chaotic few years, during which the UK had five prime ministers in six years and was largely absent from effective diplomacy as it struggled with the fallout from the 2016 Brexit referendum, the new Labour government aims to reset relations with its neighbours and allies,” said Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to the United States, now at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Centre.

“There is no doubt that the Democrats will also be interested in any tactical advice Starmer might have on how to win a general election,” he added.

Europe is increasingly concerned about the future of transatlantic relations if former President Donald Trump defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s election. Many fear that under Trump, who has expressed skepticism about NATO, U.S. support for Ukraine could wane.