UK\u2019s Starmer says plan in place in event of ceasefire in Ukraine once Russia\u2019s Putin agrees to \u2018unconditional\u2019 truce.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom and Germany have signed their first bilateral treaty since World War II, pledging to deepen cooperation on defence at a time of growing threats to Europe.<\/p>\n
The Kensington Treaty, signed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/a> on Thursday, includes clauses on \u201cmutual assistance\u201d in case of attack and on \u201cjoint export campaigns\u201d to drum up external orders for military hardware such as fighter jets that the countries produce together.<\/p>\n Speaking after the signing ceremony at London\u2019s Victoria and Albert Museum, Merz was cited by the BBC as saying that defence is the thread running through the treaty, showing that Germany and the UK are \u201creally on the way to a new chapter\u201d following the UK\u2019s withdrawal from the European Union in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see the scale of the challenges our continent faces today, and we intend to meet them head on,\u201d Starmer said at the press conference.<\/p>\n It was unclear what practical impact the promise in the treaty to \u201cassist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other\u201d would have, since both countries are NATO members and bound by the alliance\u2019s mutual defence pact.<\/p>\n Merz\u2019s visit to London followed a three-day state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron<\/a>, during which France and the UK pledged to coordinate their nuclear deterrents, signalling tighter cooperation between Europe\u2019s top three powers as doubts persist over US support for the continent amid Russia\u2019s ongoing offensive in Ukraine.<\/p>\n While Germany does not have nuclear weapons, the treaty says the countries will \u201cmaintain a close dialogue on defence issues of mutual interest \u2026 including on nuclear issues\u201d.<\/p>\n Merz and Starmer also discussed ways of boosting European support for Ukraine, following United States President Donald Trump\u2019s announcement of a plan to bolster Kyiv\u2019s stockpile by selling US weapons to NATO allies who would, in turn, send arms to Kyiv.<\/p>\n Starmer said that a plan was in place in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying the first step was to get Russian President Vladimir Putin \u201cto the table for an unconditional ceasefire\u201d, according to the BBC.<\/p>\n