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<\/p>\nThe UK is set to start talks to join the European Union\u2019s 90 billion euro (\u00a378 billion) loan for Ukraine, as the Government seeks to bolster support for Kyiv and deepen defence ties with the bloc.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir Starmer will tell leaders at a European gathering in Armenia\u2019s capital Yerevan on Monday that Britain wants to work more closely with them to ensure Ukraine gets the military equipment it needs to continue its fightback against Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n
The bid to participate in the loan scheme \u2013 recently approved by the EU after Viktor Orban\u2019s defeat in Hungarian elections ended a long-running impasse \u2013 is part of the Prime Minister\u2019s reset with Brussels.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir called for the UK and EU to \u201cgo further and faster on defence\u201d co-operation before his visit to the European Political Community summit (EPC) in Armenia, only the second by a British leader to the Caucasus country and the first in more than 25 years.<\/p>\n
He also noted access to the initiative could create opportunities for British defence firms to compete for contracts under the scheme.<\/p>\n
The UK will also slap further sanctions on Russian companies to disrupt military supply chains later this week, according to Downing Street.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ahead of the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia (Reuters)<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister said: \u201cWhen the UK and the European Union work together, we all reap the benefits \u2014 and in these volatile times we need to go further and faster on defence to keep people safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why we are beginning negotiations with the EU to ensure Ukraine gets the equipment it needs to defend its freedom, while driving opportunities for British industry to play its full part.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will always act in our national interest: protecting our security, supporting our allies, and delivering jobs and stability at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sir Keir has indicated he wants to work more closely with the EU on defence, even after talks aimed at the UK potentially joining Brussels\u2019 150 billion euro (\u00a3130 billion) Security Action for Europe rearmament fund broke down at the end of last year as the price for entry was considered too high.<\/p>\n
Before his Armenia trip, the Labour leader wrote in The Observer that Brexit had \u201cdamaged our economy\u201d and that strengthening economic links with the continent was key to recovery.<\/p>\n
The UK and EU, which will hold another joint summit this summer, will negotiate the parameters of access to the bloc\u2019s loan for Ukraine in the coming weeks, No 10 said.<\/p>\n
The EU last month approved the financial boost, vital to keep Ukraine afloat for the next two years, after Hungary lifted its veto.<\/p>\n
Sir Keir is expected to hold meetings with some of his European counterparts in the margins of the EPC.<\/p>\n
When the Prime Minister met Volodymyr Zelensky in Yerevan on Sunday, the Ukrainian president thanked the King for his \u201cstrong words\u201d on the defence of Ukraine during his state visit to the United States, for UK sanctions against Russia and efforts to counter the shadow fleet.<\/p>\n
The meeting of the EPC, formed in 2022 after Moscow\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, comes as US President Donald Trump has shifted his attention from that conflict to the one in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
The fallout from the Iran war will also be high on the agenda, and the Prime Minister will press for action to limit the economic impacts and de-escalate.<\/p>\n
He will discuss with allies how to best contribute to long-term security in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping route whose blockade has strained economies worldwide.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister\u2019s trip comes before local elections this week when voters will deliver their first verdict on his Government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK is set to start talks to join the European Union\u2019s 90 billion euro (\u00a378 billion) loan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":935770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5174],"tags":[31869,2000,299,5187,50068,1699,46099,807,12184,50069,52468,14354,657,248243],"class_list":["post-935769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-eu","tag-armenia","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-european-political-community","tag-european-union","tag-invasion-of-ukraine","tag-keir-starmer","tag-prime-minister","tag-sir-keir","tag-the-prime-minister","tag-the-uk","tag-ukraine","tag-yerevan"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116512814943114993","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=935769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}