Afrasianet - At a time when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is mobilizing more countries to join his so-called "coalition of the willing" as a guarantor of the sustainability of any peace agreement ending the war in Ukraine, officials from the administration of US President Donald Trump continue to criticize Starmer's plan, making disparaging and mocking statements about British efforts. In an interview with Fox News, the US envoy for the ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine, Steven Witkoff, described the British ambition to form a European defense alliance as a mere "flow of simplistic ideas" that ignore the facts on the battlefield, and merely "posturing for political consumption."
In previous statements, US Vice President J.D. Vance expressed the clear American apathy toward the "coalition of the willing"—which the British and French military chiefs of staff met for the third time in London in less than a month to discuss its details—belittling it.
Britain's ability to fight wars beyond its borders. "Courtesy Messages" While British officials remained silent in response to the statements of their American counterparts, the Labour government emphasized that it is continuing its partnership with France in its plans to protect any potential ceasefire in Ukraine.
In an interview with the BBC, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves stated that the current moment is favorable to advance the project to establish a European defense force, but with American military cover. Amid the tireless efforts made by Starmer, in coordination with his European partners, to bring about the "coalition of the willing," his statements continue to attempt to woo Trump and send courtship messages, hoping to be seen as an acceptable mediator bridging the widening gap between the European bloc and the US administration.
In an interview with the New York Times, Starmer did not hide his admiration for Trump and his understanding of his demand that Europeans bear the burden of military protection that America has provided for the security of the European continent for decades.
Starmer carefully chose the words of his address to the US administration, adding in the same interview that he "is not going to choose between his strategic American ally and his European partners."
This increasingly tense game of double standards does not appear to be an easy task for Starmer, who is trying to appear as a pivotal player on the scene, capable of influencing the formulation of a peace agreement in Ukraine and providing security guarantees for Europeans.
While the British newspaper The Guardian notes that while the manner in which Starmer arranged his meeting with Trump during his visit to the White House a few weeks ago aroused satisfaction and admiration from a wide political spectrum, both his supporters and opponents, many—including Starmer loyalists within the Labour Party—are wary of his overzealous appeasement of the US administration, without possessing the political courage to defend British interests, which may now conflict with US policies.
Balance What appeared in recent days to be a media war between British and American allies has also sparked a conflict over historical models for leadership in the Western alliance. Witkoff said that Europeans are seeking to emulate Winston Churchill's model, ignoring the fact that the world is living in the post-World War II era, where NATO continues to protect the collective security of the Western allies.
This was a reference to the rousing speeches the British leader gave during the German invasion of his country during the war. Starmer, for his part, invoked British leader Winston Churchill when he said in a press interview that he would follow his example and would not differentiate between his partnership with the Europeans and his historical alliance with the United States.
In this context, an analytical study issued by the European Institute for Foreign Policy Research (ECFR) found a growing European trend to evoke the model of both French General Charles de Gaulle, who defended his country's military independence from subordination to America, and Churchill's leadership in managing relations with Washington during wartime.
The study indicates that there are European attempts to regain sovereignty and leadership under the NATO umbrella in an attempt to preempt any sudden US withdrawal from the alliance, amid a growing belief that Europe is currently caught between peace and war and needs to revive the nationalist combat doctrine of both Churchill and de Gaulle.
Accommodation and Identification For his part, Nihad Khanfar, a professor of international relations at the University of London, questioned the extent to which Starmer would dare to deviate from the course charted by the US administration for the war in Ukraine.
He suggested that the initiatives led by France and Britain are primarily aimed at breaking the US position, not opposing it. Khanfar emphasized in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that British foreign policy was originally aligned with the US approach before a new shift occurred with Trump's rise to power, as these same US policies became unpredictable to the British.
He emphasized that the Europeans and the British will be forced to accept the settlement imposed by Washington regarding the way to end the war in Ukraine.
Khanfar believes that the British government, led by Starmer, is trying to find some very narrow margins to escape its dependence on American foreign policy by promoting an initiative with the Europeans to form a European military force. However, the US does not appear to be willing to take this initiative seriously.