Starmer rejects calls to cancel Trump's state visit to Britain
Photo: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Photo: Getty Images)
On Sunday, March 2, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rejected calls to cancel the offer of a state visit to US President Donald Trump. Such calls arose after an altercation between the head of the White House and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Reuters.
According to the agency, at a meeting in Washington this week, Starmer used a combination of flattery and an invitation from the royal family for an “unprecedented” second state visit to try to get Trump to commit to providing US security guarantees for Ukraine if an agreement is reached to end the war with Russia.
However, some British politicians, including the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, called for the offer to be withdrawn. This happened after Trump accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful enough for US support in the war in Ukraine.
When asked whether the state visit should be canceled, Starmer criticized politicians. They, he said, though. They want to exacerbate differences with Washington when Europe is going through “a moment of real fragility.”
“I'm not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake here, we're talking about peace in Europe,” Starmer told the BBC.
In addition, unlike some leaders in Europe, the British prime minister has tried to avoid criticizing Trump despite provocations over everything from Gaza to Ukraine to possible tariffs.
What is special about Trump's possible visit to Britain
Reuters writes that the invitation from King Charles III, which Starmer presented to Trump in the Oval Office in front of the world's media, would make the US president the first elected political leader of our time to be twice received by a British monarch on state visits.
This visit is a grand and solemn event “full of pomp and glitter” that usually includes a carriage ride and a lavish state banquet.
During the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth, only three US presidents made state visits to Britain, namely Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump (Trump's first visit was during his first term in office).
Dispute between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance
As a reminder, on Friday, February 28, a dispute arose between Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Donald Trump, and US Vice President JD Vance. The parties discussed Russia's war against Ukraine and security guarantees, which resulted in the meeting between the leaders ending early and the minerals agreement not being signed.
Read more about this in RBC-Ukraine's article.
