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In the contiguous hours aft those astonishing exchanges betwixt Presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky successful the White House, European leaders, 1 aft another, offered their nationalist enactment for Ukraine.
But the premier curate remained silent.
Then, arsenic I dashed into the workplace for the BBC News astatine Ten, my telephone went.
I had been sent a statement from No 10: Sir Keir Starmer had spoken to them some and the premier curate "retains unwavering enactment for Ukraine and is doing each helium tin to find a way guardant to a lasting peace".
Friday day successful the White House had not lone wholly upended successful the astir spectacular manner the narration betwixt 2 allies - America and Ukraine - but the diplomacy of caller days too, with the visits of President Emmanuel Macron of France and past the premier curate to the White House.
Just 24 hours earlier Volodymyr Zelensky's sojourn to the Oval Office, I had stood determination successful the aforesaid country witnessing Trump and Sir Keir's warmth and bonhomie: what a opposition to what was to travel next.
Sir Keir, similar Emmanuel Macron earlier him, had sought to ingratiate himself with the wildly unpredictable American president, convinced that was the pragmatic people of action.
Now the premier curate confronts a concern wherever 2 of the UK's allies are astatine loggerheads successful the astir nationalist and aggravated way.
Sources are tight-lipped astir the precise quality of the 2 telephone calls Sir Keir made connected Friday night, precise alert of the acute sensitivities of this delicate situation.
But the UK's diplomatic efforts successful caller weeks astatine slightest allowed those calls to beryllium possible, allowing the UK to effort to enactment arsenic a span betwixt some Kyiv and Washington, and Washington and Europe.
It comes, though, astatine immoderate governmental cost. The government's home critics specified arsenic the Scottish National Party reason that the invitation for Donald Trump to travel to the UK connected a 2nd authorities visit should beryllium rescinded.
Sunday's acme of European leaders successful London, hosted by the premier curate and attended by President Zelensky, was already shaping up to beryllium crucial. It has present taken connected further importance.
To springiness you a consciousness of that, Trade Minister Douglas Alexander told BBC Radio 4's Any Questions that not lone were the scenes successful the Oval Office "deeply troubling and sobering" but demonstrated "in the starkest imaginable terms" the grade to which "the satellite we've each experienced for the past 80 years" had changed, adding we that were successful "uncharted waters".
He besides called President Zelensky the "bravest governmental person successful Europe since Winston Churchill".
And the European Union's apical diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said that it had "become wide that the escaped satellite needs a caller leader. It is up to us, Europeans, to instrumentality this challenge."
But that is the crux of this. Is Europe susceptible of that?
At the bosom of the UK and others' petition of America is that the White House provides a information warrant to Ukraine nether immoderate bid deal.
The UK wants that to magnitude to aerial cover. This would beryllium a large inquire of immoderate president astatine immoderate time, with the information of struggle escalating with Russia.
But it is simply a colossal inquire of a president who has made it abundantly wide helium has nary appetite whatsoever for American overseas subject adventures.
Which brings america to this play and President Zelensky joining his European allies successful the UK.
There is simply a colossal magnitude astatine stake.
English (US)