Story by Katherine Forster • 7h •
“Russia started this conflict… Russia can end this conflict straight away”.
That was the punchy response from the Prime Minister to Vladimir Putin’s threat to the West today.
In response to signs that the US may soon agree with the UK and France and allow Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to be used by Ukraine to bomb territory inside Russia itself, the Russian President said on state TV that the move would “change the very nature of the conflict” in a “significant” way which would force Russia to respond.
Spelling it out he added: “It would mean that NATO countries are at war with Russia.”
Asked by journalists on board his flight to Washington DC what he made of what sounds like a clear threat, Sir Keir Starmer hit back: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away”.
The Prime Minister is in Washington DC to meet the outgoing American President for the second time since being elected in early July.
Accompanied by the Foreign Secretary David Lammy and National Security Adviser Tim Barrow, the visit aims to bolster co-operation between the two staunch allies in an increasingly dangerous world.
Putin also warned: “We will take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face.”
The Prime Minister said of Russia: “They’re the ones who are acting unlawfully.
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“And Ukraine obviously has the right to self-defence. That is why we have been providing training and capability.
“And, you know, there are obviously further discussions to be had about the nature of that capability.
“What I want to do is make sure that those discussions, tactical discussions, are set in the proper strategic context of the situation in Ukraine.
“And there are, equally, tactical issues in relation to the Middle East which need to be set in a context which is strategic not just tactical.”
Tensions in the Indo-Pacific are also likely to feature in discussions in Washington.