Vladimir Putin is “increasingly erratic” and “volatile” in his behaviour which is creating instability in the Ukraine region and around the world, says a Cabinet minister.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden would be discussing the Russian president’s conduct at a meeting in Washington on Friday.
The Prime Minister and US president are weighing up whether to allow Ukraine to fire missiles from the West deep into Russia, including British Storm Shadows.
Sir Keir arrived in Washington along with foreign secretary David Lammy for the talks.
Kyiv wants this permission to stop the wave of “glide bombs” being launched at cities and towns in Ukraine by aircraft flying from air bases far away from the frontline.
But Mr Kyle stressed that the talks in Washington were expected to be wider that this issue.
“They want to discuss Ukraine in the round,” he told Sky News.
“They want to understand where the conflict has got to.
“They want to try to understand the behaviour of president Putin.
“He is increasingly erratic.
“His volatility is causing huge instability not just in Ukraine and the immediate region but around the world as well.
“I know that the two leaders will want to get together and talk about that.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with allies for months to let Ukraine fire Western missiles including long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows deep into Russia to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.
Zelensky on Friday expressed his frustration at continued restrictions on Western weaponry, saying “there should be no unanswered questions about why Ukraine needs sufficient long-range capabilities”.
The New York Times reported, citing European officials, that the United States looks set to approve the use by Ukraine of long range missiles against targets in Russia on the condition that the weapons were not those provided by America.
Putin has stated that the West would be directly fighting with Russia if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.
The Russian president said on Thursday that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia ...
He added: “If this is so, then, bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us.”
Responding to the Russian president’s remarks, the Prime Minister told reporters: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine.
“Russia could end this conflict straight away.
“Ukraine has the right to self defence and we’ve obviously been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self-defence - we’re providing training capability, as you know.
“But we don’t seek any conflict with Russia - that’s not our intention in the slightest.
“But they started this conflict and Ukraine’s got a right to self-defence.”
Questioned on whether he believed it was a binary issue that the use of western missiles in Russian territory would constitute a Nato war with Russia, Sir Keir added: “First, to reiterate, it was Russia who started this in the first place.
“They caused the conflict, they’re the ones who are acting unlawfully. And Ukraine obviously has the right to self-defence.
“That is why we have been providing training and capability. And, you know, there are obviously further discussions to be had about the nature of that capability.
“What I want to do tomorrow is make sure that those discussions, tactical discussions, are set in the proper strategic context of the situation in Ukraine.”
Concern about escalation has been one of the reasons why permission has not yet been given to Kyiv to fire missiles from the West far into Russia.
But earlier this week US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, after talks with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London, accused Iran of supplying Putin’s regime with ballistic missiles.
America’s top diplomat stressed that this would enable Russian military chiefs to use their longer range missiles to strike targets further into Ukraine, while using the Iranian ones for shorter distance attacks.
Mr Blinken and Mr Lammy also visited Kyiv to hear directly from Mr Zelensky and other top officials about their war strategy and how the missiles would be used.
Asked about Putin’s threat of retaliation, Mr Kyle said: “President Putin has continually made threats.”
His remarks came just hours after Russian authorities accused six British diplomats in Moscow of spying and revoked their accreditation.
The move may be linked to the growing tensions in the Ukraine conflict.
The Science Secretary also stressed: “The bottom line has never changed in this.
“If this war could end quickly, it could do so because of president Putin.
“He could decide to end this war straightaway.”
In Kyiv, Mr Lammy and Mr Blinken announced further financial support for Ukraine, including a £600 million package from the UK and 717 million dollars (£550 million) from the US to meet immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs.
The UK package includes a reaffirmation of Rishi Sunak’s pledge of £242 million, as well as 484 million dollars (£371 million) worth of loan guarantees for World Bank lending before the end of the year, while the US package includes 325 million dollars (£250 million) to support Ukraine’s energy needs.
