President Joe Biden hosted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Friday to discuss the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
It marked the pair’s second sit-down at the White House since the British leader took office earlier this year.
The president kicked off brief remarks ahead of Friday’s meeting in the White House Blue Room by praising the Special Relationship between the two countries, saying there is “no issue of global consequence” in which they can’t work together.
The meeting came as questions are building over whether the two leaders will allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by the U.S. and U.K. to strike deeper into Russian territory as the now more than two and a half year-old war drags on.
With speculation swirling around whether such a move could be coming, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a fresh threat on Thursday, saying such a decision would mean the U.S. and NATO are at war with Russia.
“I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin,” Biden responded when asked by a reporter on Friday about the Russian leader’s comment.
Per a readout of the meeting shared by the White House, the two leaders "reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine" while expressing "deep concern about Iran and North Korea’s provision of lethal weapons to Russia and the People’s Republic of China’s support to Russia’s defense industrial base."
On a visit to Kyiv this week with his British counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week said the topic was likely to come up in Biden and Starmer’s sit-down on Friday.
Despite the openness Biden displayed to the idea this week when he told reporters “we’re working that out” when asked about the possibility, White House National Security communications advisor John Kirby made clear on Friday that no concrete policy on the matter has changed.
“I wouldn’t expect to see a change to that policy today,” Kirby told reporters on a call on Friday.
Ukraine has urged the U.S. and other allies to lift restrictions on weapons they provide to Kyiv to allow the country to hit further into Russian territory. But U.S. and Western leaders have been cautious about sparking a wider war, and Putin has consistently threatened that direct involvement from the West could lead to nuclear conflict.
In a move that at the time mark a notable shift for the White House, which had long said it does not “encourage” or “enable” attacks by Ukraine on Russian soil using U.S.-provided weapons, the Biden administration in May announced it was signing off on Ukraine using American weapons to hit targets in a limited area of Russian territory, just across the two countries’ borders.
At the time, Biden appeared to draw a distinction between that and approving their use for attacks further into the country.
The meeting also comes just days after the U.S. and U.K. formally accused Iran of providing Russia with missiles to aid its war effort.
The war in Gaza was also a key topic of discussion as the U.S., along with Egypt and Qatar, are scrambling to try to secure a cease-fire and hostage release deal. Per the readout, the two leaders "reiterated their ironclad commitment to Israel’s security" while stressing the "urgent" need for a deal to "that will free the hostages and enable increased relief in Gaza."
They also emphasized "the need for Israel to do more to protect civilians and address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza."
Britain last week announced it was suspending shipments of some weapons to Israel over the possibility they could be used to break international law – a move those in the U.S. upset with Biden’s handling of the war have called on the president to do.
The meeting between Biden and Starmer also comes just before leaders from around the world are set to gather at the U.N. General Assembly in New York later this month.