UK PM Starmer says Trump has a point on European defence commitment, NY Times reports

"We need to think about defence and security in a more immediate way," Starmer told the NY Times in an interview

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on February 27, 2025 in Washington, DC, US Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said US President Donald Trump has a point that European countries must bear a greater burden for their collective self-defence, the New York Times said on Sunday.

"We need to think about defence and security in a more immediate way," he told the newspaper in an interview.

Starmer is trying to assemble a multinational military force that he calls a coalition of the willing to keep Ukraine's skies, ports and borders secure after any peace settlement, the report said.

On Trump, Starmer said, "On a person-to-person basis, I think we have a good relationship." But, he said, the US leader's actions, from imposing a 25% tariff on British steel to berating President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, had generated "quite a degree of disorientation".