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Biden-Starmer meeting at the White House as Ukraine seeks easing of gun restrictions

2024-09-13 18:02:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Biden-Starmer meeting at the White House as Ukraine seeks easing of gun

Ukraine's request to facilitate the use of weapons provided by the United States and Britain will be discussed Friday during talks between American and British leaders in Washington.

Ukraine is seeking approval to use some weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory, and there are signs that President Joe Biden may change US policy on the matter. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the use of long-range weapons would put NATO at war with Moscow.

While the issue is expected to be at the top of the leaders' agenda, it appears unlikely that President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will announce any policy changes during the visit, said two U.S. officials with knowledge of the planning of the talks.

During this week's visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Ukrainian officials reiterated their demand to use long-range missiles supplied by the West against deeper-seated targets. within Russia.

Secretary Blinken said he had "no doubt" that President Biden and Prime Minister Starmer would discuss the issue during their visit, noting that the United States has adapted and "will adapt as necessary" to the changing Russia's battlefield strategy.

Secretary Blinken made similar statements in May, shortly before the United States allowed Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons inside Russian territory. The range over which the weapons are allowed to be used has been largely limited to cross-border targets that are considered a direct threat, due to concerns about further escalation of the conflict.

Along with Secretary Blinken, President Biden has also hinted that a change could happen. Asked by reporters this week if he was willing to ease restrictions on weapons in Ukraine, he replied: "We are clarifying that."

Russian President Putin warned on Thursday that allowing long-range attacks "means that NATO countries, the United States and European countries are at war with Russia. ... If this is the case, then, given the change to the very essence of this conflict, we will make the appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us."

His comments were consistent with statements the Kremlin has made since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, accusing NATO countries of de facto participation in the conflict and threatening a counter-response.

Earlier in the year, President Putin warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to other parties to strike Western targets in response to NATO countries allowing Ukraine to use their weapons to attacking Russian territory, saying that this "would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation and we reserve the right to act in the same way".

Prime Minister Starmer, in response to the Russian leader's comments on Thursday, said during a trip to the United States that Britain does not seek conflict with Russia.

"Russia started this conflict," Prime Minister Starmer told reporters. "Russia illegally attacked Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict immediately."

He added that: "Ukraine has a right to self-defense, and we've obviously been absolutely and fully supportive of Ukraine's right to self-defense — we're providing training capabilities, as you know."

"But we are not looking for a conflict with Russia - that is not our intention at all," Mr Starmer said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed US military leaders and allies to go much further. He argues that the United States should allow Ukraine to strike Russian air bases from where attacks are launched near the border, as Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine's energy grid and utilities as the winter season approaches.

President Zelenskyy also wants more long-range weaponry from the United States, including the Army's Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, to launch attacks on Russia.

The ATACMS system would not be the right answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from Russian long-range self-guided missiles, which are being launched from more than 300 kilometers away, beyond the range of the ATACMS system, Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz said. Pentagon spokesman.

U.S. officials also do not believe they have enough weapons systems available to provide Ukraine with the numbers needed to make a substantial difference to conditions on the ground, one of the U.S. officials said.

During a meeting of allied defense ministers last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not believe supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons systems would make a significant difference in the protracted war. He noted that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with domestically produced systems, including drones.

"I do not believe that a particular capability will be decisive, and I stand by that comment," said Secretary Austin.

"At this point, the policy has not changed," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, said Thursday.

Prime Minister Starmer said he was visiting Washington for "strategic meetings to discuss Ukraine and the Middle East". This is the British Prime Minister's second meeting with President Biden since his center-left government was elected in July.

The visit comes after Britain last week took a different stance from the US, suspending some arms exports to Israel because of the risk they could be used in violation of international law.

The meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Starmer also comes ahead of the annual meeting of world leaders being held this month at the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting in the Oval Office was planned in part to help the two leaders coordinate views on the war in Ukraine, efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement in Gaza and other issues, ahead of the UN meeting.

The White House has also sought in recent days to place greater emphasis on the link between the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, which flared up after Iran-backed Hamas militants in Gaza launched attacks on Israel on October 7.

President Biden's administration said this week that Iran recently supplied Russia with short-range ballistic weapons to use against Ukraine, a supply that White House officials worry will allow Russia to use more from its arsenal for targets far beyond the Ukrainian front line, while it will use Iranian missiles for shorter-range targets.

On the other hand, the US administration says that Russia has strengthened its relations with Iran, thanks also to the fact that Tehran has offered nuclear and space technology.

"This is obviously deeply troubling," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said of the missile supply. "And of course this testifies to how this partnership threatens European security and how it illustrates the destabilizing influence of Iran, now even beyond the Middle East"./ VOA