British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the issue of whether Ukraine should be allowed to use long-range weapons in attacks on Russia’s territory will be discussed further during the UN General Assembly.
Starmer made the remark after he met with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday.
The two leaders exchanged views on whether the restrictions should be scrapped. The move would effectively allow Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons in offensives conducted on Russia’s territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the restrictions to be lifted quickly. He says that while Western leaders continue to discuss the issue, Russia’s offensives continue to cause damage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that NATO countries would be directly engaged in the fight with his country, if Ukraine were to be allowed to strike targets deep inside Russia’s territory with Western-made missiles. He has warned that such a move would change the nature of the conflict.
On Friday, attention was focused on the US-British summit, which took place after Putin issued the warning.
But after the meeting, Starmer said only that the two leaders had a “productive” discussion. He suggested that the issue would be discussed further at a UN General Assembly meeting, which will be held in New York City later in September.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a social media message on Friday. In it, he said, “The war must become more difficult for Russia–that is the only way to make them realize it must end.” He added, “This requires strong decisions from the world.”