![Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2024/04/08/TELEMMGLPICT000372655184_17126021516520_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Back Ukraine to show ‘borders matter’, Lord Cameron urges Republicans
Foreign Secretary to visit Washington as party continues to block $95 billion aid package
![Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2024/04/08/TELEMMGLPICT000372655184_17126021516520_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Lord Cameron has told Republicans blocking a new aid package to Ukraine that Kyiv must defeat Russia to show that “borders matter”.
The Foreign Secretary’s message, ahead of a visit to Washington DC, is an attempt to appeal to the party’s belief in strong national borders.
US President Joe Biden’s legislation containing $95 billion (£75 billion) of new security assistance for Ukraine is being held up by Republicans in the House of Representatives, which is one half of the US Congress.
The Republicans have a majority in the House, which needs to approve the legislation if Ukraine is to get its new injection of US financial support.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been a sceptic on aid to Ukraine, but has championed tougher security on the US’s southern border with Mexico by building a wall.
‘Vital for our joint security’
Lord Cameron said in a message ahead of his trip: “Success for Ukraine and failure for Putin are vital for American and European security.
“This will show that borders matter, that aggression doesn’t pay and that countries like Ukraine are free to choose their own future.
“The alternative would only encourage Putin in further attempts to re-draw European borders by force, and would be heard clearly in Beijing, Tehran and North Korea.
“US support for Ukraine has massively degraded the military capacity of a common adversary – Russia has lost half of its pre-invasion land combat power and a quarter of its original Black Sea fleet – while creating jobs at home and strengthening the Western alliance and Nato.”
Lord Cameron will meet figures from Mr Biden’s administration as well as political leaders in the US Congress during his visit to Washington.
The Foreign Secretary will hold talks with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, before the pair take part in a joint press conference on Tuesday.
![Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2024/04/08/TELEMMGLPICT000371284225_17126022594240_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
He will also see Jake Sullivan, who as the White House’s national security adviser is one of the most influential foreign policy figures around Mr Biden. No meeting is expected with the President himself.
On the congressional side, Lord Cameron will meet Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, who is one of the most powerful figures in the party.
The Foreign Secretary said last week he would be meeting Mike Johnson, the US speaker in the House who is blocking the Ukraine aid assistance package.
Gaza on the agenda
Lord Cameron will also be discussing the Gaza conflict as the UK and the US attempt to press Israel to let in more aid trucks.
Israel has come under growing pressure to do so after admitting it was behind an “unintentional” missile strike on Gaza earlier this month in which seven aid workers, including three Britons, were killed.
The Foreign Office has decided so far not to suspend arms sales after judging that the legal threshold for doing so had not been met in the incidents assessed to date. Those incidents are understood to date from December and January.
On Monday activists calling for an arms embargo on Israel sprayed Labour’s headquarters with red paint, with 12 people arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Demonstrators from the Youth Demand group insisted both the Government and Opposition should commit to preventing the supply of weapons to the country as they targeted the party’s offices in central London.
Cabinet split denied
Meanwhile Downing Street has insisted that the Government is “completely united” over the conflict in Gaza despite claims of a Cabinet split.
Divisions appeared to have emerged over the weekend with Lord Cameron taking a more strident approach to criticism of Israel than Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister.
Mr Dowden suggested on Sunday that Israel is being held to an “incredibly high standard” compared with other nations and claimed there is “a bit of relish from some people about the way in which they are pushing this case against Israel”.
But on Monday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman denied there was a split, saying Lord Cameron’s and Mr Dowden’s words were “consistent” with Rishi Sunak’s position.
![Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2024/04/08/TELEMMGLPICT000373033117_17126027112530_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqtGQB12KHxxQCrwnTZkX0nwgWqwm85JEWpGVhFb46TTg.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Mr Sunak, meanwhile, held a lengthy call with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to mark the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale alliance between the two countries.
During the hour-long conversation the pair talked about “intensifying efforts to deny Russia a victory in their war of aggression against Ukraine”, according to a Downing Street readout of the call.
They also discussed ways to stop the small boats carrying migrants across the English Channel to the UK, a policy area that has, at points, been a source of tension between London and Paris.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “They shared their concerns at the increasingly dangerous and violent tactics being used by people smugglers and the Prime Minister said more needed to be done between European partners to prevent a devastating loss of life at sea.”