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Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to act as “a bridge” between Washington and Europe against a backdrop of deepening transatlantic tensions over Ukraine, defence, trade and free speech.

The UK’s prime minister will attend a summit hosted by France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to discuss Europe’s role in ending the war in Ukraine, amid signs US President Donald Trump is sidelining the continent.

Starmer’s allies say Britain could put boots on the ground in Ukraine as part of a European effort to secure the peace. The Paris meeting is expected to discuss a possible deployment of a “reassurance force” with troops stationed behind, but not on, a future ceasefire line.

Starmer is then expected to travel to Washington in the last week of February in an attempt to persuade Trump to fully involve European nations in Ukraine talks and to try to head off US tariffs.

The prime minister said this was “a once in a generation moment for our national security when we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia”.

He added: “The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the enemies we face.”

Downing Street said it expected there to be another meeting of European leaders, including Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after Starmer returned from his talks with Trump.

Britain — like other European countries — is under fierce pressure from Trump to increase defence spending against a backdrop of sluggish growth and strained public services.

Starmer has committed to setting out “a pathway” to raise UK defence spending from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent but has so far not said when that target would be met.

Starmer’s allies insisted that defence spending would not rise above the target of 2.5 per cent of GDP set out in Labour’s manifesto, creating growing tensions with defence chiefs who want more.

“There definitely won’t be an announcement before the Trump visit,” said one ally of the prime minister, referring to the timetable for reaching 2.5 per cent. “We have got to complete the strategic defence review first.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves wants to hold spending at 2.3 per cent for as long as possible, as her fiscal plans come under severe strain. Starmer, who makes the final decision, is under pressure from the White House and defence chiefs to move to 2.5 per cent quickly.

Reeves’ fiscal rule requires the current budget to be in surplus by 2029, but her £9.9bn of “headroom” against that rule has already been blown away by gloomy economic forecasts. More spending cuts or tax rises are likely to be needed to plug the gap.

If Britain increased defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP in 2029 — expected to be an election year — it would force Reeves to find an additional £5bn-£6bn at a time when other public services are already tightly squeezed.

Defence chiefs told Starmer on Friday that they needed 2.5 per cent of GDP to be spent now to avoid immediate cuts, according to people briefed on the discussions.

They then want to raise that level to 2.65 per cent — £10bn a year more than at present — a figure which has been rejected as unaffordable by both Starmer and Reeves.

The idea of a British “bridge” between Washington and Europe fell apart after Brexit, with US presidents often preferring to talk to Berlin or Paris along with EU leaders in Brussels.

But Starmer’s allies believe that Trump holds a positive view of Britain, which could be leveraged into political influence, even if the vice-president JD Vance last week criticised the UK’s approach to free speech.

Jonathan Reynolds, business and trade secretary, told the BBC on Sunday that Britain’s balanced trade relationship and light touch regulation of artificial intelligence could work to the UK’s advantage.

“There’s definitely a view towards Europe and a different view towards us in the UK,” Reynolds said. “We’ve got a chance to play a constructive role.” On trade, he said the US saw Britain “in a different light”.

Lord Peter Mandelson, UK ambassador to Washington, said recently that Britain should make a virtue of being “not Europe”. It remains to be seen whether this is wishful thinking on the part of Starmer, given Trump’s stated plan to levy tariffs across the board and Vance’s criticism of Britain last week.

Vance told the Munich Security Conference last week that “basic liberties of religious Britons, in particular” were under threat, criticising the prosecution of an anti-abortion protester.

Even if Starmer does persuade Trump to give Britain special treatment — for example on tariffs — that would complicate the prime minister’s parallel attempt to “reset” relations with the EU, including removing trade barriers.

Trump said on Friday that Starmer had requested a meeting in Washington and that the two leaders had “a lot of good things going on”. He said the meeting would take place “very soon”, adding: “I think he wants to come next week or the week after.”

Marco Rubio. Stock photo: Getty Images

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that the next few weeks and days will determine whether Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is genuinely interested in peace in Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Rubio in an interview with CBS News

Quote: “I know President Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin last week, and in it, Vladimir Putin expressed his interest in peace, and the President expressed his desire to see an end to this conflict in a way that was enduring and that protected Ukrainian sovereignty, and that was an enduring peace, not that we’re going to have another invasion in three or four years. That’s a good call. 

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Now, obviously it has to be followed up by action, so the next few weeks and days will determine whether it’s serious or not. Ultimately, one phone call does not make peace.” 

Details: Rubio was asked whether he actually believes that Vladimir Putin is willing to negotiate and make concessions to end the war.

He said this is the first step in the process, but “we have a long ways to go”.

Quote: “Again, one call doesn’t make it, one meeting wouldn’t make it. There’s a lot of work to be done. But you know, even the longest journey begins with the first step. So we’ll see what happens from here, hopefully good things.” 

More details: Rubio mentioned that he would also be in Saudi Arabia, where Steve Witkoff, the US president’s special envoy to the Middle East, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz are heading on Sunday, 16 February for talks with Russian officials.

The upcoming negotiations in Saudi Arabia will be some of the first high-level, in-person talks between Russian and American officials in many years. They will precede a face-to-face meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms across the US on Saturday to demonstrate against the drastic cuts Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, is imposing on the federal government.

Organisers cited 37 protests across the country as part of an effort co-ordinated through the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakover.

Musk’s car company is emerging as a target for political outrage in the US and Europe in response to the billionaire’s outsized influence in the White House.

Through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Musk has orchestrated the dismissal of tens of thousands of civil servants, and gained access to sensitive US Treasury payments. He has also voiced his support for the German far-right and called for the centre-left government of Sir Keir Starmer in the UK to be thrown out.

What began with Tesla owners slapping bumper stickers on their cars saying “I bought this before Elon went crazy” has grown to activists projecting an image of Musk making a gesture many have likened to a Nazi salute on to Tesla’s factory in Berlin.

The UK campaign group Led by Donkeys joined with Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty in January to project the image, part of a longer montage of Musk’s recent political statements. The group said it was produced in response to the Tesla chief executive’s endorsement of German far-right political party, the AfD.

Local news outlets have reported on arson and attempted arson at Tesla showrooms in Oregon and Colorado. Earlier this month a Tesla showroom in The Hague was defaced with graffiti that included swastikas and anti-fascist slogans.

Dutch police confirmed to the FT that they were in contact with Tesla and the investigation was continuing, but no arrests had yet been made.

Tesla’s stock, which climbed after the presidential election, fell 6 per cent on Tuesday to $328.50. It rebounded to close the week at $355.84 but is still down 12 per cent since the start of the year.

“The worry of the Street is that Musk dedicating so much time — even more than we expected — to Doge takes away from his time at Tesla,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

“In addition, Musk’s Doge-related actions and more powerful alliance with Trump clearly could alienate some consumers to move away from the Tesla brand.”

About 50 to 100 protesters turned out in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, carrying signs saying, “Dethrone Musk” and “If Tesla survives, your country dies”.

Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, was one of them. Since Musk’s power is not derived from election to public office, he said, boycotting and divesting from Tesla is the only tool available to curb his agenda.

He argued that Tesla was overvalued and that its core business of making and selling cars was deteriorating. Significant losses could force investors to sell, triggering a drop in the share price and forcing Musk to sell a portion of his shares to meet a margin call.

“Every Tesla sale that you prevent, every dollar not spent servicing a Tesla, not charging at the Supercharger — these further degrade the business,” Niedermeyer said.

“It’s not easy, it’s not guaranteed, but we do have the opportunity to wipe out a huge amount of Elon Musk’s wealth.”

In Chicago, protesters carried a banner saying “Stop buying Nazi cars”.

City resident Lisa Pereira said she came to the demonstration because “you have to do something”. She said she was disturbed by the administration’s attempts to crush diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, its aggressive immigration enforcement, and the power wielded by Musk.

“Everything is a little off the rails,” she said. “So I decided I had to show up. I had to be in cahoots with my soul.”

Chris White said he attended on Saturday because he fears “we’re living through a fascist coup”.

“My kids are trans,” he said. “I’m getting told they don’t exist. I don’t know if their healthcare will exist.”

Though one man yelled from a truck, “Elon’s my hero!” most passers-by in the heavily Democratic city expressed support.

“I’d rather buy a Rivian,” said one, referring to the electric-truck maker whose showroom was a block away from the protest.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.