Treasury Minister Darren Jones said that the UK government’s commitment towards Ukraine is “resolute”, amid fears that incoming US president Donald Trump could force the country to give up territory to Russia.
Jones said on BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that “Ukraine must be able recover its country in the same form as before” and there “shouldn’t be any element of acquiescence to illegal Russian invasions”.
He said he would not make any comments on “hypothetical” scenarios of a future US government.
In the same program, Conservative shadow foreign minister Dame Priti Ptel said that the UK needed to find a way to “shared work with the US” in regards to Ukraine.
During his election campaign, Trump characterized the Russia-Ukraine war as a drain on US resource and said that he could end it “in a single day”.
The president-elect did not provide any details on how he would resolve this conflict.
A research paper by two of his former National Security Advisors argues that the US should continue to supply weapons to Ukraine but condition the support on Kyiv starting peace talks with Russia.
To entice Russia the West would promise that it would delay Ukraine’s entrance into Nato, a military alliance of European and North American countries.
Former advisers said Ukraine should not give in to Russian occupation and should instead negotiate on the basis of current front lines.
Jones responded to the question of how the UK government might respond if Trump forced Ukraine to make territorial concessions: “Our commitment as a nation to Ukraine here in UK is resolute.”
“We continue to provide billions of pounds in funding each year, and our armed forces support Ukraine in line with our Nato commitments.”
Jones responded: “That’s the basis on which we operate.”
Dame Priti who was appointed shadow Foreign Secretary earlier this week agreed that Ukraine should not be forced to concede Crimea.
She added: “We have been unambiguous as Conservatives in the government… We stand shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine.
She said that Trump hasn’t “entered the White House yet”, and that it would be wrong for her to speculate about future US foreign policy.
“I think we should take a step back and be mature in this situation.”
“We need dialogue, and this is all about having a strong relationship to our closest ally.
I would encourage our government to be constructive going forward in these discussions.
Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of UK Defence Staff, said that Russia had suffered the worst month of casualties since the beginning of the Ukraine War, with approximately 1,500 people dying or being wounded every day.
Sir Tony said that the losses were for “tiny increments of land”, but that “there is no doubt that Russia is making territorial gains, and that is putting a lot of pressure on Ukraine”.
“Russia spends over 40% of public expenditure on defence and security. This is a huge drain on Russia’s economy.
“I’m saying that the longer the war continues, the more difficult it becomes.”
He reiterated that the UK government was resolute in its position that Western allies will be resolute “for as long as it takes”, adding: “That is the message President Putin must absorb and the reassurance to President Zelensky.”
Trump has repeatedly urged Nato member countries to spend more money on their defense, accusing European nations of freeriding on America.
In February, he stated that he would allow Russia to “do whatever they want” with regards to Nato nations who did not spend enough money on defence.
Nato members are expected to spend at least 2% of their income on defense. Currently, 23 countries – including the UK- are meeting the target. This will drop to six by 2021.
The Labour government has committed itself to increasing spending by 2.3% to 2.5%, but hasn’t set a deadline for achieving that figure.
Jones said that the government would not set a deadline before it completed its strategic defense review.
The review, led by former Labour Minister and Nato Head George Robertson, examines how the defence budget has been spent. The review is expected to be completed by spring.
Jones did not specify if the 2,5% target could be achieved within the current parliament, which can last until 2029.
In their manifesto the Conservatives stated that they hoped to reach 2.5% by 2030.
When asked if her party was willing to accept cuts elsewhere to reach the 2.5% target, Dame Priti responded that “efficiencies” could be made and “performance of civil service” could be improved.
She said that the government could have done more to set the path for 2,5% of GDP being spent on defence in the budget.
Former Labour Minister Lord Peter Mandelson stated that the Ukrainians‘ freedom is sacrosanct. That’s not for grabs.”
He said that the UK and the US should work together to secure Ukraine’s borders and freedom to ensure that Russia “cannot invade again”.
He said that this would be possible not by offering Ukraine Nato Membership, but by building “stronger and deeper” economic relations with the country.
Lord Mandelson, the UK’s next ambassador to the United States, could be named as such.
When asked if he had been approached by anyone about the high-profile job, he replied: “Nobody spoke to me about it.”
When asked if he was interested, he replied that he would “be very interested indeed to give advice about trade” to whoever is chosen.
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