Britain’s David Cameron in DC for talks with Ukraine presses Trump for the first time in Florida

(J Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

Britain’s David Cameron in DC for talks with Ukraine presses Trump for the first time in Florida

Ukraine

MATTHEW LEE and JILL LAWLESS

April 9, 2024

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is in Washington on Tuesday to pressure senior Republicans to release money for Ukraine, after meeting with skeptical Donald Trump in Florida.

Cameron says victory for Ukraine is essential to U.S. and European security, but the former president and presumptive Republican nominee is a critic of continued U.S. support, and the legislature working with him is holding an aid package for Kiev in Congress for.

The British Foreign Office confirmed the meeting, which the British side described as productive.

The British government said it is standard practice for ministers to meet opposition leaders from allied countries in election years.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron is making a shocking comeback as Britain’s Foreign Secretary

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in February with British Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, who is favorite to become prime minister in elections later this year. When Cameron was prime minister in 2012, he met then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

British officials did not say how the meeting went. Cameron and Trump have had several notable disagreements in the past. Cameron called Trump’s proposal during his first presidential campaign to ban Muslims from the US divisive, stupid and wrong.

In a statement, Trump’s campaign said the meeting was held to discuss several issues affecting both countries, including the upcoming elections in both Britain and the United States, the impact of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union , the need for NATO allies to fulfill their obligations in the European Union. defense spending and ending the killings in Ukraine.

The statement did not elaborate further on these topics, but added that Trump, Cameron and British Ambassador to the US Karen Pierce “had also discussed their mutual admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Trump told NATO ally: Pay more or Russia can ‘do whatever they want’

Cameron was British Prime Minister during Britain’s 2016 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, a move he opposed but which Trump enthusiastically supported. Cameron resigned after voters narrowly rejected his call to remain in the bloc.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unexpectedly brought Cameron back into government last year as Britain’s top diplomat.

In Washington, Cameron plans to urge U.S. lawmakers to pass a new aid package for Ukraine, warning Congress that it will endanger the West’s security by holding up funding. He will hold talks with lawmakers, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and hopes to meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), whose role is crucial.

In a video posted to social network X last week, Cameron said: Speaker Johnson can make it happen in Congress.

A $60 billion military aid package remains stuck in the House of Representatives as populist conservatives seek to block further funding for the two-year conflict and some mainstream Republicans demand concessions on border security before supporting the bill.

US aid to Ukraine depends on House Speaker Johnson. His leadership is being tested by the extreme right

After Cameron urged US lawmakers in February not to show the weakness shown against Hitler in the 1930s, Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene said he had to worry about his own country.

Before his trip, Cameron said success for Ukraine and failure for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is crucial to American and European security.

This will show that borders matter, that aggression does not pay and that countries like Ukraine are free to choose their own future, he said. The alternative would only embolden Putin in further attempts to redraw Europe’s borders by force, and would be heard clearly in Beijing, Tehran and North Korea.

Cameron will also discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, including efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire and get more aid into Gaza, in talks with officials including Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Britain is sending a Royal Navy ship to the eastern Mediterranean to strengthen efforts to open a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and a temporary US-built pier in Gaza.

Lee and Lawless write for the Associated Press. Lawless reported from London. Jill Colvin contributed from New York.

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