British Army Coldstream Guards flank French President Emmanuel Macron (C-R) and British ambassador to France Menna Rawlings (C-L) at the Elysee Palace in Paris for a joint guard with the Gendarmerie Garde Republicaine, the first time any foreign power has protected the presidential residence, in a special ceremony to celebrate 120 years of ‘Entente Cordiale’. Photo by Thibault Camus/EPA-EFE
The foreign ministers of Britain and France on Monday called on NATO countries to do more to support Ukraine and ensure Russia does not prevail, warning that the world is watching and “will judge us is we fail.”
A Putin victory would be catastrophic, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne warned in an op-ed to mark the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, a series of treaties that ushered in the modern era of close Anglo-French ties following centuries of rivalry. Advertisement
“Together, France and Britain will reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine at the European Political Community Summit, to be held at Blenheim Palace in July. We will also ensure a productive Nato summit in Washington this summer,” they said.
“We are both absolutely clear: Ukraine must win this war. If Ukraine loses, we all lose. The costs of failing to support Ukraine now will be far greater than the costs of repelling Putin.”
Cameron and Sejoiurne’s comments came as Cameron was due to fly to Washington to try to persuade senior Republicans to unblock a $65 billion military aid package for Ukraine that passed the U.S. Senate in February, but remains stalled in the House of Representatives. Advertisement
Cameron’s visit, his second on the issue since December, includes a one-on-one meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who is resisting pressure to bring the supplemental funding bill to the floor. He in turn is being held ransom by fellow House Republicans threatening to hold a vote to oust him if he does so.
He is expected to tell Johnson that with Britain and the European Union pledging a combined $57 billion support for Ukraine this year the United States needs to get on and do the same.
Following a NATO leaders’ meeting at which Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pitched a $107 billion plan for the alliance to arm Ukraine itself, Cameron urged European foreign ministers to “get on the phone” to Johnson “to get that supplemental through.”
“Congress does listen to what others say and what America is capable of doing,” he said. “I think the thing that could most change the narrative about Ukraine [would be the] $60 billion flowing from U.S. to Ukraine.”
