U.S. 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.
"The United States is committed to standing with you to help Ukraine as it defends against Russia's onslaught of aggression. It’s clear that Putin will not prevail in this war," Biden told Starmer.
The meeting comes as the Western allies consider changing policy to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons provided by the United States and Britain to strike into Russian territory. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy were in Kyiv earlier this week, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the case to deploy such weapons, including American ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) and British Storm Shadow missiles to target Russia.
"Let's count on some strong decisions at least. For us it's very important for today," Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, in response to whether the transatlantic allies would greenlight deeper strikes into Russia.
While in the Ukrainian capital, Blinken noted that Washington has adapted and "will adjust as necessary" its support for Ukraine to meet Moscow’s changing strategy in the battlefield. He used similar language in May, just before the Biden administration loosened its restrictions to allow American weapons to be used on cross-border attacks but not on targets deep inside Russia.
Earlier this week, Biden signaled that he is open to loosening restrictions further, telling a reporter that his administration was "working that out now."
However, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Friday ahead of the meeting that there has been no change to U.S. policy on Ukraine’s long-range strike capability inside Russia. "I would not expect there to be any announcements on this coming out of the meeting today," he said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems, including drones. Speaking in a meeting of allied defense ministers last week, Austin said he did not believe providing Kyiv with long-range attack capability would be "decisive" in the war.
Public discussion and conflicting messages coming from different parts of the administration suggests that a shift in policy may be underway, said Dalibor Rohac, a transatlantic relations expert.
"I think we’ll arrive at a point when Ukrainians will be using missiles deep within Russian territory," he told VOA. "The question is whether that will make a meaningful difference for the actual conduct of the war."
Moscow has warned that arming Kyiv with long-range weapons would escalate the conflict beyond Ukraine. On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said allowing long-range strikes "would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia. … If this is so, 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."
When asked about the Russian president’s threat against NATO, Biden said "I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin."
Biden and NATO allies must consider how much they are willing to risk escalating the war to add further pressure on Russia, a nuclear power, said William Pomeranz, expert in 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 question on long-range missiles for Ukraine.
"This wasn’t a meeting about a particular capability. That wasn’t why we got our heads down today," he said. "It was to allow ourselves the space, which we took, the time, which we took, to have a strategic discussion so that tactical decisions could be seen within the wider strategy."
No British weapons for Israel
The leaders also discussed cease-fire prospects in the 11-month war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
"We'll discuss our work to secure a deal in the Middle East, release the main hostages that are held by Hamas, bring immediate cease-fire, and increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza," Biden said at the start of his meeting.
London is usually aligned with Washington on its support for Israel. Last week, though, Starmer’s government suspended arms export licenses 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.
About 30 licenses for weapons used in the current conflict in Gaza were suspended from a total of approximately 350 U.K. licenses to Israel. The suspension followed months of protests at British weapons factories.
The move is less drastic compared to other countries including Belgium, Italy, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands, which have announced a total ban on arms exports to Israel in recent months out of fear the weapons are being used on Palestinian civilians. U.K. defense exports to Israel are also relatively small, about $24 million in 2023.
Additionally, Biden and Starmer discussed the threat of Iran. In recent weeks, the White House has emphasized Iran’s role in the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe. The White House said that Iran is not only Hamas’ main sponsor in its war against Israel, but also is providing short-range ballistic weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine.
The leaders expressed "deep concern about Iran and North Korea’s provision of lethal weapons to Russia and China’s support to 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 engagement with Biden since Starmer took office in July.
"I think that historically, we've shown the strength of our relationship, that we are strategically aligned. We have common cause on these global issues," Starmer said.
"After a chaotic few years, during which the United Kingdom had five prime ministers in six years and was largely absent from effective diplomacy while it wrestled with the consequences of the 2016 Brexit referendum, the new Labour government is aiming to reset relations with neighbors and allies," said Peter Westmacott, former British ambassador to the U.S., now with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center.
"No doubt the Democrats will also be interested in any tactical tips Starmer may have for how to win a general election," he added.
There has been heightened concern in Europe about the future of transatlantic relations should former President Donald Trump win against Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election. Many are worried that under Trump — who has expressed skepticism about NATO — U.S. support for Ukraine would falter.
