Keir Starmer is heading to the US for his third trip in three months, with aides pressing for meetings with the presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Fresh from his speech at the Labour conference, the prime minister headed to the United Nations general assembly in New York where the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will be pushing for a deal on the use of Storm Shadow missiles against Russia.
Zelenskyy is expected to meet both Harris and Trump during his visit to the US as part of efforts to present a “victory plan” that maps out a path to defeating Vladimir Putin.
Starmer has not managed to meet either presidential candidate on previous trips because their schedules have not aligned. On Tuesday No 10 would not be drawn on whether any diary time had been found for the meetings.
The British prime minister will give a speech to the UN summit on Thursday, arguing that taking an international lead on war, climate change and poverty will stop issues “rebounding” on to the UK, such as “migration flows on an unprecedented scale”.
Starmer’s trip is taking place as negotiations continue with the White House to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons on Russian territory. David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, argued this week it was time for “nerve and guts” to allow a change of policy.
Zelenskyy is expected to meet the US president, Joe Biden, as well as the presidential candidates as he pushes for Storm Shadow missiles to be permitted, having said that this autumn will “determine the future of this war”.
The UK has been advocating for the US to increase its backing for Ukraine by allowing use of Storm Shadows. But Starmer’s visit to Washington to see Biden earlier this month did not resolve sticking points over the use of the British and French-made weapons, which also rely on US technology.
Even if a breakthrough is made on the talks this week, it is unlikely any decisions on the missiles will be announced at this week’s summit.
With diplomatic talks continuing, Starmer’s team have been pressing for meetings with Harris, the Democratic candidate, and Trump, the Republican candidate.
Harris is expected to meet Zelenskyy on Thursday in Washington. The White House has said they will “discuss the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and US support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression”.
Trump will be at a rally in North Carolina the previous day and has said he will “probably” meet Zelenskyy during the trip, despite his criticism of US financial support for Ukraine. Starmer’s team is understood to be reluctant for him to meet one candidate but not the other.
Starmer is expected to have bilateral meetings with a number of world leaders, and to also meet chief executives during his two-day visit to New York.
In a speech to the UN general assembly on Thursday, he will set out his international priorities of helping to solve global problems such as war, poverty and the climate crisis, arguing this will help build a safer and more prosperous UK.
He will say: “We are returning the UK to responsible global leadership. This is the moment to reassert fundamental principles and our willingness to defend them. To recommit to the UN, to internationalism, to the rule of law.
“Because I know that this matters to the British people. War, poverty and climate change all rebound on us at home. They make us less secure, they harm our economy, and they create migration flows on an unprecedented scale.”
He will add: “The British people are safer and more prosperous when we work internationally to solve these problems, instead of merely trying to manage their effects. So, the responsible global leadership that we will pursue is undeniably in our self-interest.”
