British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden decided to postpone their decision on whether to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western-supplied missiles against Russia.
Furthermore, Biden downplayed Vladimir Putin’s warnings of conflict if Ukraine were permitted to use Western-supplied long-range missiles against Russian territory, stating that he does not give much credence to the Russian leader’s threats, AFP reported.
“I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin,” Biden said as he met British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House for talks on whether to drop restrictions on Kyiv on using the Western-supplied arms.
However, the Labour leader suggested that he and Biden would revisit the plan at the UN General Assembly in New York the following week, engaging with a broader group of stakeholders.
During their meeting at the White House, where they were flanked by US and British flags, Biden downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning that permitting Ukraine to use the missiles would signify a Western “war” with Russia.
While Biden asserted that “Putin will not prevail in this war,” he is reportedly hesitant to approve Ukraine’s request for long-range US-made ATACMS missiles to target Russian territory. US officials are concerned that these missiles would have a limited impact on Ukraine’s efforts and are also mindful of not depleting America’s own stockpile.
The two leaders said they also discussed the war in Gaza, with Britain having recently suspended arms deliveries to Israel over concerns that they could be used to violate international humanitarian law.
The US, Israel’s main military and diplomatic backer, has held off such a step.
Starmer told reporters at the White House that he had a “wide-ranging discussion about strategy” with Biden but that it “wasn’t a meeting about a particular capability.”
As they met with their teams across a long table in the White House, backed by US and British flags, Biden played down a warning by Russian President Vladimir Putin that allowing Ukraine to fire the weapons would mean the West was “at war” with Russia.