Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the world
UK defence secretary John Healey will travel to meet his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the “parameters” of a European plan for peace in Ukraine, according to people briefed on the plans.
The accord includes the minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signalled on Tuesday he was willing to sign — something that Britain and France see as the first stage in a plan they hope they can sell to US President Donald Trump.
Zelenskyy also endorsed a French plan for what British officials call a “phased” effort to end the war — starting with a truce to halt sea and air attacks — that would ultimately lead to European troops being deployed to help guarantee a total ceasefire.
Healey will seek to persuade Hegseth that the US will need to offer a military “backstop” to the European force if it is to deter further Russian aggression — something that Trump has so far refused to do.
“That’s a work in progress,” admitted one British official, with studied understatement. Healey will also urge the Americans to restore paused military aid to Ukraine, as part of an effort to ensure Zelenskyy was in “the strongest possible position” in peace talks with Moscow.
The ceasefire proposal drawn up in London, Paris and Kyiv will form a centrepiece of the discussions between Healey and Hegseth, which will also include the need to strengthen bonds between Nato partners, after a fractious few days for the alliance.
Ahead of Healey’s visit, British officials confirmed that although the final details of the plan had yet to be finalised, “the parameters are in place”. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have said they will formally present the plan to Trump. Downing Street has declined to comment on when the British premier might return to Washington for talks.
British ministers privately expressed relief on Wednesday that Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday struck a more conciliatory tone on Ukraine than some officials had predicted.
The US president said he had received an “important letter” from Zelenskyy signalling his willingness to negotiate a peace deal with Moscow and to sign a minerals deal with the US. It followed a heated argument between Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last week.
Earlier on Tuesday evening, UK foreign secretary David Lammy hosted a call with his counterparts among the Weimar+ group, which was established last month in response to the US policy shift on the Ukraine war and which includes France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy and the EU as well as the UK.
Foreign ministers reiterated their commitment to Ukraine and discussed options for economic support, according to people familiar with the call. They looked ahead to an EU summit on Thursday, to which Starmer has not been invited despite rallying fellow European leaders in London last weekend.
British officials are conscious that the US administration is keeping a close eye on what the UK government is saying about Ukraine, including on social media.
Ahead of Healey’s meeting with Hegseth, the UK defence secretary insisted that Anglo-American relations were “as strong as ever” and “underlined by a shared commitment to freedom and democracy”.
He repeated calls for the UK and Europe to “step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so”. He added: “In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too.”
Healey and Hegseth first met last month, when the UK convened the 50-nation Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels, which coordinates military support for Kyiv.
Source link
