Blinken and Cameron ‘in lockstep’ after warning US could give Putin and Xi ‘Christmas present’
Blinken and Cameron ‘in lockstep’ after warning US could give Putin and Xi ‘Christmas present’
Reuters
Anthony Blinken and David Cameron have appeared “in lockstep” as they warned that blocking a package of support for Ukraine would be akin to serving a “Christmas present” for Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
At a press conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Cameron said: “There is no more important relationship for Britain than this partnership with the United States.”
Lord Cameron said Europe and the US were “rightly” sharing the financial burden of supporting Ukraine.
Blinken earlier said: “Our countries are in lockstep when it comes to continuing to do everything possible to ensure that Putin’s aggression remains a strategic defeat and failure for Russia.”
WATCH HERE: Blinken and Cameron speak in US
The pair warned that “if we don’t stop Putin in Ukraine he will be back for more”.
“Next time it could well be a Nato ally, in which case it would no longer be British or American funds, it would be British and American lives.”
Cameron continued by thanking Blinken for the aid already sent before adding: “I’d also argue that for something like a 10 per cent uplift in your defence budget and our defence budget, we have actually, with the strength of the Ukrainians, destroyed about half of Russia’s pre-war defence strength without the loss of a single British of American life.”
The warning comes after Senate Republicans opposed a multi-billion-dollar aid bill that would have provided wartime funding to Ukraine and Israel.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron urged allies to rally around Kyiv, describing the response to the conflict as “the great test for our generation” as he delivered a speech at the Aspen security conference in Washington DC on Thursday.
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The pair warned that 'if we don’t stop Putin in Ukraine he will be back for more'
Reuters
US Congress failed to pass a $110billion (£88billion) package of wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities in protest against Biden over the migrant crisis on the southern border.
The White House has sounded the alarm about what might happen if further funding is not approved soon, suggesting Ukraine’s military would be stalled or overrun.
Lord Cameron used his two-day visit to the US to describe the response to Russia’s invasion as “the great test for our generation”, citing the 2008 conflict in Georgia as he warned that if Putin wins “it won’t be the end of this”.
The Foreign Secretary, who was Prime Minister during Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014, warned “American lives” could be at risk if the Russian president targeted a Nato ally next.
Cameron said Xi and Putin were the two big threats to world security
Reuters
Speaking at the conference, Lord Cameron said: “I see it as the great test for our generation, the great challenge for our generation. Are we going to defend this democracy?”
He added: “We should pass this money to the Ukrainians, we should back them and make sure that it’s Putin that loses, because if that money doesn’t get voted through, there are only two people who will be smiling.
“One of them is Vladimir Putin in Russia. The other one is Xi Jinping in Beijing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give either of those people a Christmas present.”