When Keir Starmer managed a landslide victory for Labor against the Conservativespromised a new era for British politics and the reset of its relationship with the European Union. However, his attitude towards Russia remains the same.

Tensions between London and Moscow escalated this week amid indications that the United States, prodded by Britain, was moving to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory, reports said. in their analysis by the New York Times.

As Starmer arrived in Washington on Friday for talks with President Joe Biden, the exchange of accusations between him and Vladimir Putin escalated with Russia moving to expel six British diplomats.

The missile issue is the first major foreign policy test of Keir Starmer’s prime ministership, one that could have security implications for the whole of Europe. Britain’s diplomatic offensive puts it at the forefront of a wider European campaign to support Ukraine at a time of deep political uncertainty in the United States, which will result in a future limited US role in countering a rising Russia.

Starmer and Biden were expected to discuss the terms under which Ukraine could get the green light to use Britain’s long-range missiles “Storm Shadow” within Russia. After the meeting, the White House said the leaders “reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression,” without releasing details about the missile use.

According to analysts, Biden’s consent to such strikes is critical for symbolic and operational reasons: The missiles use satellite data and other technology provided by the United States.

“We want to go forward with the Americans on this,” said Peter Ricketts, Britain’s former national security adviser. “We are now in a period where Biden is not running for office, so he can fully focus on the political legacy he will leave behind.

Starmer wants to focus the conversation around that to encourage him to go as far as he can in Ukraine.”

British officials downplayed the possibility of an announcement immediately after the meeting. But a series of statements this week by Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who traveled together to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggest a change in the ban policy of the past. .

The development angered Putin, who threatened that a possible lifting of the ban on the use of Western weapons deep inside Russia by Ukraine would be seen as a de facto declaration of war. “This will mean that NATO countries – the United States and European countries – are at war with Russia,” he said, according to state media.

Hours later, en route to Washington, Starmer hit back while declaring that he did not seek war. “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict immediately,” he told reporters. “Ukraine has the right to self-defense.”

On Friday, Russia announced it was revoking the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow on the grounds that they were involved in espionage and sabotage. Britain’s Foreign Office dismissed the accusations as “totally unfounded” and added: “We make no apologies for protecting our national interests.”

In May, Britain expelled a senior Russian diplomat in London, claiming he was a military intelligence officer, and closed several Russian diplomatic facilities in the country.

Strengthening Ukraine ahead of the US election

Britain has long seen its role as a catalyst for its allies’ military support for Ukraine. The 2023 Storm Shadow missile mission paved the way for the United States to routinely send the Army’s surface-to-surface missile systems, known as ATACMS. Its decision that same year to send Challenger tanks opened the door for the United States and Germany to send their own tanks.

Unlike the United States, where former President Donald Trump has signaled he will take a very different approach to Russia than Biden, Britain’s Labor Party remains committed to supporting Ukraine.

Starmer backed the last government when it pledged to increase military aid in January. “We will remain united in defending Ukraine against this aggression by Putin,” he said.

It is the prospect of a drastic change in the White House, analysts told the NYT that has led Starmer to meet with Biden now. He chose to make the 24-hour visit to Washington, even though he also plans to travel to New York in two weeks for the United Nations General Assembly. Busy schedules would understandably make it difficult for the British prime minister, but also for Biden.

With long-term US support no longer something the West can take for granted, diplomats and analysts note that Britain’s ultimate goal is to give Ukraine the chance to have a better bargaining position in future talks with Russia.

“People in the UK are very nervous about what Trump is going to do,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank in London. “What does he mean when he says he wants a settlement? Maybe he doesn’t know either.”

Those fears – that Mr Trump could push through a peace deal with Russia that would leave large parts of Ukraine in Russian hands – have also fueled Britain’s diplomatic rapprochement with France and Germany. Lammy’s first stop after becoming foreign secretary in July was Berlin while Starmer met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

France is working with Britain to build the Storm Shadow system, so its support is also seen as important. In the run-up to the war, Macron worked harder than Boris Johnson, then Britain’s prime minister, to find a diplomatic solution with Putin. However, France France’s support for Ukraine has grown stronger as the conflict continues.

“One of the reasons the UK has good relations with Europe is that it will have to rely on them if the Americans are absent,” Mr Chalmers said.

A long history of mistrust

Despite his support for Ukraine, Starmer has also made it clear that Britain does not seek conflict with Russia. “That is not our intention at all,” he told reporters on his plane Thursday.

And Britain’s defense secretary, John Haley, stressed the need for Ukrainians to abide by international humanitarian law in using British-supplied weapons. This is in line with the Labor government’s wider emphasis on international law in relation to conflict. He recently announced that he would suspend the shipment of certain weapons to Israel.

“We are providing arms to Ukraine to defend its sovereignty,” Mr. Healy said in July. “This does not preclude them from striking targets in Russia, and this must be done by the Ukrainians within the parameters and limits of international humanitarian law.”

Starmer is the first Labor prime minister in decades to face a Cold War-style climate with Russia. One of his predecessors, Tony Blair, once spoke of his desire to give Putin a prominent place on the world stage, reflecting the widespread view that Russia could play a constructive role in counter-terrorism efforts after the 9/11 attacks .

But Britain has instinctively taken a hard line towards Russia since Winston Churchill warned of an “Iron Curtain” after World War II. Recent relations have never recovered since 2018, when a former Russian intelligence agent and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury, England. Britain blamed Russian military intelligence for the attack.