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British Finance Minister Darren Jones says the UK government’s support for Ukraine is “resolute” amid fears that new U.S. President Donald Trump could push the embattled nation to cede part of its territory to Russia.
He spoke on the air of BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, reports Ukrinform.
According to Jones, “Ukraine should be able to recover its country as it was previously structured” and that there “shouldn’t be an element of conceding to illegal invasions from Russia”.
Asked how the British government would react if Trump compelled Ukraine to make territorial concessions, Jones said: “Our commitment to Ukraine as a country here in UK is resolute. We continue to support Ukraine with billions of pounds of funding every year and support from our armed forces in line with our commitments through NATO.”
When asked whether the UK respects Ukraine’s desire to get back Russian-occupied territories, including Crimea, Jones replied: “That is the basis on which the UK is operating.”
Speaking on the same programme, Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said the UK should find a “shared way of working with the U.S.” on Ukraine.
Priti, who was appointed shadow foreign secretary earlier this week, agreed that Ukraine should not cede Crimea.
“No, of course not,” she said adding: “We’ve been unequivocal as Conservatives in government… we stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.”
She added that Trump “hasn’t entered the White House yet” and it would be wrong to speculate on future U.S. foreign policy.
The Chief of the British Defense Staff, Tony Radakin, confirmed the position of the British government that the Western allies will be resolute toward Ukraine: “That’s the message President Putin has to absorb and the reassurance for President Zelenskyy.”
Former Labor Secretary Peter Mandelson said no one should be “dictating to the Ukrainians” what they do about their territory and that the UK should work with the U.S. to secure Ukraine’s freedom and its borders so Russia “cannot invade again”. He added that would be possible, not by offering Ukraine NATO membership, but by building “stronger, deeper” economic relationships with the country.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, during the election campaign, Donald Trump spoke of the Russo-Ukrainian war as a drain on U.S. resources and claimed he could end the war within 24 hours.
He went on to promise to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine even before taking oath.
Later, reports emerged in the Western media of Trump’s so-called “peace plan” for ending the war in Ukraine, which may include a demand to stand back from joining NATO for the next 20 years, as well as freezing the front line without regaining captured territories.
