Sky Presenter Corners Minister Over UK Involvement In Trump's Ukraine Plan

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander and Sky News presenter Trevor PhillipsSky News presenter Trevor Phillips left a cabinet minister scrambling when he repeatedly asked if one of our top allies, the US, had involved the UK in its proposed peace plan to end the Ukraine war.Multiple outlets leaked Donald Trump’s draft deal with Russia meant to resolve the conflict earlier this week – but it quickly caused dismay in Europe because of the amount Ukraine was expected to give up to its aggressor.The proposals suggest Ukraine cedes more land in the Donbas, give up its weapons and take a cut to its military.As the UK is also a staunch supporter of Ukraine, Phillips asked transport secretary Heidi Alexander just how much the government knew about the plan in advance.“Like many of your viewers I learnt about the peace deal yesterday that President Trump was putting forward,” she said, before pointing out Keir Starmer had spoken to both the US leader and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently.“Our fundamental view on this is the future of Ukraine has to be determined by Ukrainians themselves.“But we do need to find a way to bring this war to an end and ensure that just and lasting peace that everyone wants.”Phillips replied: “Maybe the cabinet didn’t know, but presume the prime minister knew this was coming?”“The prime minister has a very close relationship with president Zelenskyy and works closely with Donald Trump on this,” she said.The presenter hit back: “What we are concerned about principally is: what is our role here?“Though we claim to be America’s closest allies, they didn’t consult us did they?”Alexander pointed to the work Starmer has done with the Coalition of the Willing, but Phillips asked twice more: “Did he consult us?”The minister said more discussions would be taking place in Geneva today at the National Security summit and she did not want to get ahead of those.Phillips cut in: “I’m hearing the intention here, but it’s pretty pointless, isn’t it?“If the Americans don’t think we’re important enough to consult before they launch this on the world, what is the point of going to Washington?“What is the point of going to Geneva?“Because our voice doesn’t count with them, does it?”“I think it does count with them,” she said, and pointed to top US diplomat Marco Rubio’s praise for UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell for securing a ceasefire in the Middle East.She continued: “Our relationship with the US is one of seeking to influence, to facilitate that dialogue, with other global leaders, which is exactly what the prime minister was doing at Johannesburg at G20.”Asked if Powell would tell counterparts the UK does not like the plan, Alexander said: “What he’s going to be saying is that we believe there are elements of this plan which are essential for a lasting peace, but there is more work that is required on it.”She also said Ukraine needs to maintain a capability to defend themselves, touching on the plan’s suggestion that Kyiv limits its armed forces to 600,000.Trump has also threatened to withdraw all US hardware and intelligence if Ukraine does not agree to his deal.But Alexander refused to say if the UK could step into that role if the US did follow through on that warning.She said: “What we have seen is Donald Trump, alongside European leaders, believes there can be a path to peace, on that we are united.”When asked by HuffPost UK about what the UK knew about the deal before it was leaked, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office just pointed to Starmer’s previous words from Friday on the proposals.He said: “I just had a call with President Zelenskyy alongside President Macron and Chancellor Merz, and that was an opportunity for us to express again our support for Ukraine and the principle that is very important, which is all matters to do with Ukraine must be determined ultimately by Ukraine.“Now, we all want a just and lasting peace, that’s what the President of America wants, that’s what we all want, and so we need to work from where we are to that end. But the principle that Ukraine must determine its future under its sovereignty is a fundamental principle.”Related...Putin's Chilling Response To Trump Peace Plan Shows Why It Is Bad News For UkraineTrump's 'Meaningless' Ukraine Deal Stunned The West – But He May Have Had An Ulterior MotiveNo.10 Rebuffs Trump And Russia's Alleged Peace Plan For Ukraine With Key Reminder

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