NATO Allies Plot to Counter Donald Trump on Ukraine

NATO allies are plotting to ensure president-elect Donald Trump cannot scale back U.S. support for Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron, the French President will meet on Monday to discuss whether President Joe Biden can be persuaded to give Ukraine permission to fire Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, U.K. newspaper The Telegraph has reported.

Starmer, who was attending a ceremony in Paris to mark the 106th anniversary of the Armistice in 1918, took part in a bilateral meeting ahead of the commemorations, with the French president, were they reportedly were set to hold talks on foreign policy issues, including both the Ukraine and Gaza conflicts.

Newsweek has reached out to a representative for the British government via email for comment as well a representative for the French government and the Trump campaign.

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meet in Paris on November 11, 2024. NATO allies want to make sure president-elect Donald Trump cannot scale back U.S. support for Ukraine. Pierre Suu/Getty Images

The outcome of the 2024 presidential election, and the second term for Trump may have major implications for the future of Ukraine. The president-elect has been critical of the amount of aid the U.S. is giving to Ukraine, and has previously referred to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky as "the greatest salesman on Earth."

Britain's defence secretary John Healey said on Monday that he expects Americans to stand with Ukraine for "as long as it takes to prevail over (Vladimir) Putin's invasion." Healey's remarks emphasized support amid the concerns over the conflict.

Ukraine continues to fight against Russia, which launched a full-scale offensive into the country back in 2022. The U.S. has been unwavering in its support for Ukraine, having provided an approximated $106 billion in aid directly to the government in Kyiv, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

With the war in Ukraine locked in a bloody stalemate and the humanitarian cost continuing to rise, the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine looks murky as Biden's term enters it's final months and Trump is set to return to the White House.

According to The Telegraph, the leaders will discuss whether Biden can be persuaded into giving Ukraine permission to fire Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, and the outlet reported that there are hopes that Biden will sign off this measure.

Ukraine has been long pursuing permission from the U.S. and the U.K. to strike territory in Russian with long-range weaponry. These requests have so far been denied due to fears that granting permission to Ukraine to strike Russian territory, would escalate the conflict.,

World leaders are reportedly trying to assess how Trump intends to change U.S. policy on Ukraine. Throughout his campaign, Trump made clear that he is committed to ending U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts.

The president-elect stated that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a day, a remark which raised eyebrows on both sides of the conflict. Zelensky has said that he wants to repel Russia's invasion, and recapture territories, including Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow since 2014. These scenarios could be unlikely in a second Trump term.

Fears about Trump's plan for Ukraine were heightened after it was confirmed that neither Mike Pompeo nor Nikki Haley, who are both pro-Ukraine, would be given positions in Trump's cabinet, in what could mark a shift for Trump's foreign policy in his second term.

On Saturday, Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect's eldest son posted a video on Instagram where he appeared to mock Zelensky. The clip, originally shared by Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska, shows Zelensky frowning while standing next to President-elect Trump. The text overlay reads: "POV: You're 38 Days from losing your allowance."

During the visit, Starmer met with the new French Prime Minister Michael Barnier. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Barnier wrote: ""Very happy to see you again, @Keir_Starmer, in Paris this morning. Franco-British friendship has a long history and has known trials. It will be invaluable in facing the challenges that lie ahead."

At a summit in Budapest last week, Macron warned that "We must not delegate forever our security to America."

The French president said that: "The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores. If we decide to remain herbivores, then the carnivores will win and we will be a market for them."

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