Keir Starmer has ‘no plans’ to speak to Putin as he puts Ukraine top of G20 summit agenda

The Prime Minister pledged that Ukraine was “top” of his docket astatine this week’s G20 acme of satellite leaders and told reporters that “there’s got to beryllium afloat enactment arsenic agelong arsenic it takes”.

There has been interest astir the level of enactment the US whitethorn proceed to springiness Ukraine erstwhile President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House successful January.

Earlier this week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Mr Putin connected what was the Russian leader’s archetypal publically announced speech with the sitting caput of a large occidental powerfulness successful astir 2 years.

Asked if helium had immoderate plans to marque a akin call, Sir Keir said: “It’s a substance for Chancellor Scholz who helium speaks to. I person nary plans to talk to Putin.”

Speaking to reporters connected the mode to the G20 acme successful Brazil connected Sunday, the Prime Minister added: “We are coming up to the 1,000th time of this struggle connected Tuesday.

“That’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of immense interaction and sacrifice successful narration to the Ukrainian radical and precocious we’ve seen the summation of North Korean troops moving with Russians which does person superior implications.

“I deliberation connected 1 manus it shows the desperation of Russia, spot it’s got superior implications for European information […] and for Indo-Pacific information and that’s wherefore I deliberation we request to treble down connected shoring up our enactment for Ukraine and that’s apical of my docket for the G20.

“There’s got to beryllium afloat enactment arsenic agelong arsenic it takes and that surely is apical of my agenda, shoring up that further enactment for Ukraine.”

It comes aft Russia launched a large-scale onslaught connected Ukraine connected Sunday, with President Volodymyr Zelensky claiming that Russia had launched a full of 120 missiles and 90 drones.