Starmer heads to UN as Middle East tensions rise and Ukraine war rages

Sir Keir Starmer will make his United Nations debut as Prime Minister with a promise to deliver “global leadership” as the Middle East teeters on the brink of all-out conflict and the bloody war in Ukraine grinds on.

The Prime Minister’s two-day visit to New York comes as Israel and Hezbollah exchange fire across the Lebanon border and while Ukraine continues to push for permission to use UK and US-supplied missiles to strike at targets within Russia.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky is in the US lobbying for support, although so far US president Joe Biden has resisted calls for American missiles to be targeted at airbases and other facilities in Russia.

Without a shift in the US position, a breakthrough on the issue would appear unlikely in New York.

Sir Keir will use his speech at the UN General Assembly, the annual gathering of leaders, to set out how the UK will step up to play its part, guided by the rule of law, in a world dominated by conflict – notably in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.

In his speech, due to take place on Thursday, he will say: “We are returning the UK to responsible global leadership.

“This is the moment to reassert fundamental principles and our willingness to defend them. To recommit to the UN, to internationalism, to the rule of law.

“Because I know that this matters to the British people. War, poverty and climate change all rebound on us at home. They make us less secure, they harm our economy, and they create migration flows on an unprecedented scale.

“The British people are safer and more prosperous when we work internationally to solve these problems, instead of merely trying to manage their effects.

“So, the responsible global leadership that we will pursue is undeniably in our self-interest.”

His visit to the United States comes less than six weeks before the country’s presidential election, but it is not clear whether he will meet candidates Donald Trump or Kamala Harris while he is in New York.

Their busy campaign schedules around the US and the fact it would be diplomatically awkward to meet one but not the other could prevent talks between Sir Keir and the next occupant of the White House.

Published: 25/09/2024 by Radio NewsHub