UK’s Starmer seeks Italy’s support for missiles to Ukraine
Italy and the U.K. are poised to reaffirm their pledge to defend Ukraine as Prime Minister Keir Starmer travels to Rome to seek support for a proposal to let Kyiv use non-U.S. long-range weapons against Russia.
Starmer and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who are due to meet on Monday, will discuss a proposal for Ukraine to use British long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles on Russian territory, people familiar with the matter said. They’re also due to discuss deepening economic ties and tackling illegal migration, the U.K. prime minister’s office said in a statement.
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Starmer’s visit to Rome comes days after he met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington.
They discussed whether to let Ukraine conduct long-range strikes in Russia with the Storm Shadow missiles guided by U.S. navigational data, though Biden has so far resisted such a move out of concern it could escalate the war.
British officials will be holding talks with French and German counterparts about the plan in the coming days, the people familiar said.
The two leaders are also expected to say they have discussed hybrid threats posed by Russia to Europe more widely and reiterate support for Ukrainian reconstruction, according to a draft statement seen by Bloomberg.
“It’s important that as allies supporting Ukraine, we have a shared strategy to win going forward,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the BBC on Sunday. “We’ve been discussing this with the United States and with other key allies.”
Downing Street said Starmer’s meeting with Meloni is also part of the U.K.’s wider effort to reset relations with Europe since the new Labour government came to power, following similar visits to Paris, Dublin and Berlin in the early weeks of his tenure. Starmer has said he wants a closer, friendlier relationship with the European Union, including deepening economic ties, but without re-joining the E.U.’s single market or customs union.
He and Meloni are also due to discuss plans to tackle illegal migration, with Starmer keen to show progress on his election pledge to cut the number of people entering Britain via vessels crossing the English Channel.
