London’s Sunday Times reported on May 12 on what Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron pitched to Donald Trump, during his April trip to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, to get him to stand down on any opposition to the U.S. military package for Ukraine. Their “senior source” said that Cameron contended that the military package would help Ukraine hold the front, creating the “best possible conditions” for Trump. Cameron reportedly posed to Trump: “What are the best conditions under which you, as President, can conclude a deal in January? It’s when both sides hold their ground and pay the price.” Translation: So, you say you’ll solve the conflict in a day? Well, you need to allow both sides to be bled until then (which, by the way, is the plan for a long time after January).
Independent of whether the Times’ “senior source” has provided an accurate account of Cameron’s pitch and/or of Trump’s standing down, the article created a secondary issue. The U.K.’s official position is to support Ukraine until Russia is defeated, and not bleeding the proxy Ukraine and then settling for a peace deal. So, yesterday, when asked about the report, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wasn’t very helpful. As reported by Politico, he merely diverted to the party line: “I haven’t seen this Sunday Times article.… But what I can tell you is that you [is that] we have led when it comes to Ukraine. Investment in Ukraine’s security is investment in our security. Our NATO allies are already worried about the prospect of if Putin succeeds, that they’ll be next—with all the consequences that would bring.”
Earlier, his spokesperson had taken a different tack, saying simply: “I don’t recognize those reports … our position has not changed. Putin must fail. It is crucial, now more than ever in this conflict, that Putin is sent a very clear message that we will support Ukraine for as long as is necessary.” When asked, in light of that, to directly reject the Times story, the spokesperson deflected: “I’ve seen some anonymous source briefing. We do not recognize those reports.”
