Starmer says Trump has a point on European defence commitment

UNITED KINGDOM: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said US President Donald Trump has a point that European countries must bear a greater burden for their collective self-defence, the New York Times said on Sunday.

“We need to think about defence and security in a more immediate way,” he told the newspaper in an interview. Starmer is trying to assemble a multinational military force that he calls a coalition of the willing to keep Ukraine’s skies, ports and borders secure after any peace settlement, the report said.

On Trump, Starmer said, “On a person-to-person basis, I think we have a good relationship.” But, he said, the US leader’s actions, from imposing a 25 percent tariff on British steel to berating President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, had generated “quite a degree of disorientation”.

Starmer has spoken of how he personally “likes and respects” the US president, Donald Trump, and understands what he is trying to achieve. The prime minister made the comments in an interview with the New York Times, saying: “President Trump has a point when he says there needs to be a greater burden borne by European countries for the collective self-defence of Europe.”

He said it was a critical moment for the UK and it would not be right to pick either Europe or the US to side with. “Churchill didn’t do it. Attlee didn’t do it. It’d be a big mistake, in my view, to choose now,” he said.