David Cameron has held talks with Donald Trump in Florida amid a push to shore up support for Ukraine and advance a new package of aid that is held up in Congress.
In a statement on Monday, a Foreign Office spokesperson said:
Ahead of his visit to Washington, the foreign secretary will meet former President Trump in Florida today. It is standard practice for ministers to meet with opposition candidates as part of their routine international engagement.
Cameron’s discussion with the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, believed to be the first such meeting by a senior UK minister with Trump since he left office, covered Ukraine, the war in Gaza and the future of Nato, according to a report in the Telegraph.
Trump has repeatedly voiced misgivings about aid to Ukraine and questioned America’s commitment to Nato, the international alliance which the US has committed to defending when necessary.
On his visit to Washington, Cameron will warn that success for Kyiv in defeating Russia is “vital for American and European security” as he urges lawmakers across to approve “urgent” further assistance for the country.
He will hold talks with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, the national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, and is hoping to meet the House speaker, Mike Johnson, whose colleagues are preventing the vote on an extra $60bn (£47bn) of Ukraine aid. He is not scheduled to meet US president Joe Biden.
Lord Cameron will push for Ukraine to be given the resources needed to “go on the offensive” in 2025 and will urge congressional leaders to “change the narrative” on support for Kyiv, the Foreign Office said.
