Andy Burnham has said he will seek to restore Donald Trump’s support for Ukraine ahead of Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Downing Street on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said he was being “careful” in his language after Mr Trump’s diesel deal with Russia as he said he was “laying the ground” for a reconciliation.
Mr Burnham is expected to use the visit to announce an acceleration of military support for Ukraine, and to pledge further rounds of sanctions aimed at Moscow.
He was asked by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey to outline his stance after the deal at the weekend, as he said it was a “shameful betrayal of the Ukrainian people and European security”.
Mr Burnham said: “Obviously I’m looking very much at my meeting with President Zelensky in a couple of hours.
“I called him on Saturday because I recognised it was another very dark and difficult moment for him as they contemplate a winter that will be severe for his people. I recognise that he is carrying the heaviest of weights right now, and it is extremely difficult for him.
“What I have to do in my role is try and repair bridges so that the support comes back.
“Therefore I should, at this moment in time, be careful in terms of laying the ground to bring people back together. That is the role I intend to play. It’s the right role for me to play in this moment.
“I will listen to President Zelensky carefully, but he won’t be going away from Britain today empty-handed.”
The Chancellor will call for a ban on Russian LNG (Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA)
PA Wire
Sir Ed had said: “Scared of the mid-terms (elections), President Trump has done a deal with Vladimir Putin to buy Russian diesel, ripping up international sanctions against Putin.
“The Prime Minister studiously avoided commenting on Trump’s behaviour on Monday, but this House does deserve to know his position, as does, frankly, President Zelensky and our brave Ukrainian allies.”
Speaking at the start of Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Burnham said British support for Ukraine is “unwavering” and he had asked for further military and financial support plans to be drawn up “ready for the coming weeks”.
The accelerated support will see faster deliveries of British lightweight multirole missiles to Ukraine, which have proved effective against Russian jet-powered drones.
The UK will also urge its allies to increase the pressure on Russia, with Chancellor John Healey using IMF meetings in Bangkok to call for a ban on Russian liquified natural gas (LNG).
The meeting in Downing Street follows what Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described as a “very difficult few days” in relations with Washington following Mr Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel ahead of US mid-term elections overshadowed by rising fuel prices.
The UK responded to news of the deal by pledging to “maintain pressure on Russia”.
Recent days have also seen the US president suggesting Ukraine needs a new leader and claiming Mr Putin wants a peace deal more than the government in Kyiv.
And on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said his government had received no warning from its partners about a Russian ballistic missile strike the previous evening, raising fears the US had stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.
But Mr Trump insisted the US was still sharing intelligence with Ukraine as he left the White House for a campaign trip to Alaska later the same day.
On Tuesday night, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had suffered further ballistic missile attacks with no warning, including a strike on one of Kyiv’s main power plants.