London, Thanasis Gavos

Stop at Mar-a-Lago, his resort Donald Trump in Floridathe UK Foreign Secretary did David Cameron before visiting Washington to meet with the re-contender for the US presidency.

The purpose of this detour by Lord Cameron is believed to have been mainly to urge Mr Trump to continue financial support to Ukraine in the event of his election to the presidency.

The meeting is being described by political commentators as a potentially embarrassing moment for the British foreign minister, as Lord Cameron has previously branded Donald Trump a “protectionist, xenophobic and misogynist”. He also called Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the US “divisive, stupid and wrong.”

The two men also discussed developments in the war in Gaza and the future of NATO.

A Foreign Office spokesman commented that it is “common practice” for ministers to meet with opposition candidates abroad as part of regular international contacts.

In Washington, Lord Cameron will have a meeting on the same issues with his American counterpart Anthony Blinken, as well as congressional officials. His main mission is to convince the Republicans to remove the obstacles to the approval of the new financing package for Ukraine.

In an article he co-signed with his French counterpart Stéphane Cezournet before leaving for the US, Lord Cameron warned: “Ukraine must win this war. If Ukraine loses, we all lose.”