Joe Biden has arrived in Britain tonight for talks with Rishi Sunak amid a growing row over cluster bombs for Ukraine.
The US President will send the controversial weapons to Kyiv to boost its fight against Russian invaders - opening a divide with the UK. Many NATO allies, including Britain, ban their use.
The Prime Minister said: “The UK is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use.”
US climate change envoy John Kerry told the BBC today: “Everybody is always going to be worried about how something is used and I know the President has described this as a very difficult decision. He’s putting constraints on how that can be used.”
The President is due to hold talks with the PM in No10 on Monday. He will also meet the King in Windsor Castle, before flying to Lithuania for the NATO summit starting on Tuesday.
The White House said Mr Biden will "compare notes" with Mr Sunak on the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia.
But a diplomatic row is brewing over the cluster munitions America will supply to Kyiv. Treasury Minister Victoria Atkins told Sky News: “We, the UK, have signed the convention that prohibits their use and discourages their use, and of course we stick by that convention and we are trying to do what we can to support Ukraine.” She added: “We have signed this convention and for us, that is our position on these.”
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the munitions should not be delivered. "We all agree that Ukraine needs to be properly armed to fight Russia and their illegal invasion. But I am concerned about the use of cluster bombs - and it is not just the UK who has these concerns, other countries clearly do as well,” she told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme on Sky News.
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"I would like to find a way to properly arm Ukraine but without using these weapons which can have an impact not just on the battlefield that time, on that day, but for months and years afterwards. That is something that causes me deep concern, and many other people as well. While I support President Biden's desire to ensure Ukraine is fully armed to fight Russia, I am not convinced that these are the appropriate weapons."
A former senior British diplomat said NATO allies were “uncomfortable” with the White House’s decision. Lord Ricketts, who served as the UK's first national security adviser, said: "You can feel the allies are all very uncomfortable with this.
"We have all of us, apart from the Americans, signed up to the convention which means we don't produce or stockpile or use these weapons. They are indiscriminate weapons, of course. I think we do owe it to the Ukrainians to understand why they need these weapons.
"This offensive that they have launched, there is a lot riding on it. If it stagnates, bogs down, the risk is this war will just continue." He added: "It is a hard choice of the kind that countries have to make in war time. I am uncomfortable with it, yes I wish it wasn't being done, but I think we can understand why they are doing it."
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