Ahead of the start of the NATO summit in Washington, the ex-president's ally US Donald Trump - Elbridge Colby, urged London to implement a "Britain first" approach in the field of defense and security, writes the British newspaper "Telegraph", quoted by BTA.
Sir Keir Starmer must accept that the war in Ukraine is a European problem, a senior Trump ally has said, warning that Washington must not be "bullied" to render assistance.
If Trump wins another term, Britain should not expect significant support from the US on Ukraine. Europe must take "primary responsibility" on the war, he warned, calling on London to implement a "Britain first" in the field of defense and security.
The comments by Colby, a military strategist who is expected to land a top security post if Trump wins the November election, come on the opening day of a major NATO summit in Washington, where the alliance will discuss the support for Ukraine, notes in. "Telegraph".
The Labor Party has made an effort to make a good impression on Trump ahead of the November election. Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's team had also made efforts to encourage Trump to support Ukraine.
Colby said the US is more focused on threats from China, where "the British military can realistically do very little" to help.
The meeting in Washington is the first since the new British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took office. He will also meet with Joe Biden for a personal discussion at the White House.
Biden provides US military aid to Kiev, but could lose office in November's presidential election. Trump, for his part, promised to cut aid and end the war "in a day" through negotiations with Russia, recalls "Telegraph".
Colby, who served at the Pentagon in Trump's first administration, is one of several Trump allies who have held talks with Labor to discuss how the US and Britain would work together if the former president wins a second term road.
"The biggest thing on the agenda with European countries should be: do you take the primary responsibility for NATO's conventional defense in Europe?", the Trumpist strategist believes. "You should take better care of your own situation because we have to focus on China."
He said Britain should implement a "Britain first" strategy aimed at European security and abandon its Indo-Pacific bias.
"At the moment there is very little the British military can do in the Pacific or further afield," added Colby.
He pointed out that Labor was more willing than Rishi Sunak's government to accept Trump's plan to reduce US involvement in Ukraine. Former British foreign secretary David Cameron came under fire from Republicans in April after he visited Washington to urge Congress to agree to more military support for Kiev.
Other NATO countries, however, are skeptical that they will be able to make up for the shortfall in military support for Ukraine if Trump withdraws US aid. The US is the largest defense donor to Ukraine. But Colby said Americans are tired of listening to British politicians' demands on Ukraine, including on the latest funding bill, known as the "supplement".