Sir Keir Starmer has reaffirmed the UK will continue to back Ukraine's "irreversible path" to joining Nato despite leading figures in President Donald Trump's administration appearing to rule out membership.

The prime minister told Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky he stood by a pledge - made alongside ex-US president Joe Biden at last year's Nato summit in Washington - to support Ukraine's bid for membership.

Sir Keir and Zelensky spoke on the phone ahead of a global leaders' meeting at the Munich Security Conference. 

Sir Keir's comments are in stark contrast to those of the Trump administration, which has said this week that Nato membership for Ukraine is not a "realistic prospect".

In a readout of the call, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The prime minister began by reiterating the UK's concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it's needed.

"He was unequivocal that there could be no talks about Ukraine, without Ukraine.

"Ukraine needed strong security guarantees, further lethal aid and a sovereign future, and it could count on the UK to step up, he added.

"The prime minister reiterated the UK's commitment to Ukraine being on an irreversible path to Nato as agreed by allies at the Washington Summit last year."

The leaders agreed it was an "important moment to demonstrate international unity and support for Ukraine" and "agreed to stay in close contact", the statement added.

The UK has had to walk a fine line between its support for Kyiv and maintaining good relations with Trump, who this week agreed to open negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin while signalled his willingness to make concessions to Moscow.

Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said restoring Ukraine's territory to where it was before the first Russian invasion in 2014 is simply "not realistic".

Speaking at a defence summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Hegseth also downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining Nato.

His remarks were the clearest indication yet of the Trump administration's position on the Ukraine war and what a peace plan to end the conflict could involve.

Ukraine has repeatedly called for Nato membership and has rejected ceding territory as part of any peace deal.

Nato's official position is that Ukraine is on an "irreversible" path to joining the alliance, which was established at a meeting in Washington last year and signed off by Sir Keir and ex-president Biden. 

Sir Keir also took a phone call from Trump late on Thursday night, when they discussed "his forthcoming visit to the US", Number 10 said. 

Zelensky has warned Putin is "definitely not preparing for negotiations", but to "continue deceiving the world" as he appealed for unified pressure from allies on Russia.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy sat down for talks with US Vice President JD Vance on Friday, on the first day of the Munich Security Conference.

Afterwards, Lammy said he was "very encouraged" by their conversations on Ukraine, and he and Vance were in agreement about Kyiv having a seat at the table when it comes to negotiating a peaceful end to the war.

"We share the view that there has to be an enduring peace," Lammy told Reuters news agency following the meeting. 

"There was an agreement that Zelensky and the Ukrainians have to be part of that negotiated deal."

Lammy said it was "not surprising" that Trump wanted to speak to Putin and Zelensky about negotiations to end the war, but added: "These are just talks at the moment. We are some way from a negotiated peace."

Earlier in the day, Vance had said he hoped his discussion with Lammy would focus on what they "spoke about a couple of years ago when we met, which is our shared belief that Europe really should take a bigger role in its own security".

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyelpzqn28o

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