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Nov. 11 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron was joined in Paris on Monday by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for events marking Armistice Day following a meeting at which both leaders reaffirmed "unwavering" support for Ukraine amid the uncertainty injected by Donald Trump's election to a second U.S. presidency. The pair agreed France and Britain would back Ukraine for as long as it takes "to thwart Russia's war of aggression," the Elysee Palace said in a statement.
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According to Downing Street, the situation in Ukraine was the top item on their agenda with Starmer and Macron discussing "how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter."
The talks came after campaign claims by President-elect Trump that he could end the war in a day, as his son, Donald Trump. Jr. over the weekend taunted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reposting a clip on social media saying he was "38 days away from losing your allowance."
His Vice President-elect, JD Vance, is also opposed to having U.S. taxpayers continue to fund Ukraine's war effort, leading opposition to the Biden administration's $60 billion support package in late 2023 and early this year.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told Sky News on Sunday that Whitehall advisers were "considering and planning lots of different scenarios -- as they would do under any administration -- to make sure that the U.K. is in the strongest possible position," but that there would be zero tolerance of any suggestion of watering down the commitment to Ukraine.
"That's why we're offering them [Kyiv] $3.9 billion a year, which you know, in the fiscal context here in the U.K., is difficult but the right decision for us," he said.
Amid fears over NATO's future, Starmer has reportedly asked officials to look at how a new Trump administration might alter a U.K. strategic defense review currently underway, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves working on putting in place a plan to get to Labor's 2.5% of GDP target for the defense budget.
The 2024 requirement for NATO member countries is a minimum 2% of GDP, but Trump made a point during his campaign of vowing he would get allied countries to contribute more and rely less on the United States to plug the gaps in funding.
"I'll insist that every NATO nation must spend at least 3%. You have to go up to 3% - 2% is the steal of the century, especially as we're paying for it," he said at a campaign stop in August.
