The UK does not back the deal struck between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that would see the United States purchase millions of tonnes of diesel from Russia, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, Streeting said the agreement had been reached while the US president faces elections in November, and at a moment when politicians around the world are under pressure to ease the cost of living.
He argued that Washington and other allies ought to concentrate on intensifying pressure on Russia in order to shorten the war “and to secure Ukraine’s freedom”.
The US-Russia arrangement is intended to bring down fuel prices in America, which rose after the US and Israel’s conflict with Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal would enable Moscow to raise funds to source new military equipment and carry on the war.
Trump hit back by suggesting Ukraine should “get a new leader” able to reach a deal with Russia to end the long-running conflict between the two countries.
Streeting said selecting Ukraine’s leader was a matter for Ukrainians, adding that the country was “fortunate to have someone of his calibre, his courage and his integrity leading their war effort”.
He added that responsibility for the war “lies squarely and solely with President Putin and his imperialist ambitions”.
The defence secretary noted it was not the first occasion on which Washington and Kyiv had disagreed in public, saying: “In these situations we see it as our role and our responsibility to try and bring our friends back together again.”
He also stressed the extent of US backing for Ukraine, saying there was “often an understatement” of how much help had been given. “We’re seeing US support for Ukraine in a number of ways from the provision of weapons – and we do a lot of procurement through the Americans – through to intelligence support and through the diplomatic initiative that Washington is leading.”
Conservative shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said Trump was “wrong” to call for Zelensky to step aside, adding: “The US is our closest ally but even close allies can disagree.”
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, he also criticised the diesel deal, saying it “sends out all the wrong messages”. He added: “If you want a peaceful world, you don’t do that sort of deal – you properly fund defence and prepare for war.”
Streeting, who also appeared on the programme, said the UK had to plan its defence spending on the basis that Russia could attack Nato – the military alliance made up of 32 countries – by 2030. He said the UK did not “seek conflict with Russia” but added: “Strength is the best form of deterrence.”
Earlier this year John Healey – now the chancellor – resigned as defence secretary, accusing Sir Keir Starmer’s government of not providing enough money for defence. He said the UK had to be spending 3% of national income on defence by 2030, up from an estimated 2.6% this year.
Streeting said Healey would use the coming Budget to “plug” a £4.7bn funding gap to pay for the Defence Investment Plan. He also said the government would set out a path to increase spending to 3.5% of national income by 2035 at next year’s Spending Review.
Pressed on whether the government could commit to spending 3% of GDP by 2030, Streeting said he would “always push for more defence spending” but added: “We’re not going to set out a spending commitment without showing how we will pay for it.”
He warned that if he were chancellor and stated “3% in 2030” on the programme without explaining how it would be funded, the markets would price in that risk and the cost of borrowing would rise.
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