As a US delegation heads to Saudi Arabia for talks in Ukraine with Russia, European leaders are planning a summit to agree a response.
There has been concern that Europe and the UK could be side-lined in these talks. It’s that fear that has led to this hastily-arranged summit tomorrow in Paris.
The meeting will be convened by French President Emmanuel Macron. Sir Keir Starmer, who earlier said this was “a once in a generation moment for our national security”, will also attend.
No 10 sources told the BBC last night that they think the UK is well-placed to try and be that bridge between the US and some of the European leaders who have been criticising President Donald Trump in last few days.
The question that immediately arises, however, is what this all means for the UK and UK defence spending. Remember, Labour promised to set out a path to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence. But there is no immediate timescale for when that will happen, and military chiefs in last few days said UK must go further than 2.5%.
Yesterday, the former head of the Army Lord Dannatt told the BBC that the UK military is “so run down” it could not lead any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. He warned a failure to raise defence spending significantly will “consign Keir Starmer to the bin of history.”
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