Starmer: Our security starts in Ukraine

ODN

At a joint press conference with Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Sir Keir Starmer said: “First thing we need to do is get Putin to the table for an unconditional ceasefire.'' Speaking at the Airbus plant in Stevenage, the prime minister also welcomed German commitments to tackling people-smuggling gangs. Report by Gluszczykm. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

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00:00Crucially, we're also working together on illegal migration, and I want to thank Friedrich

00:07for his leadership on this, pledging decisive action to strengthen German law this year

00:14so that small boats being stored or transported in Germany could be seized, disrupting the route

00:21to the UK. And it's a clear sign that we mean business. We are coming after the criminal gangs

00:27in every way that we can. We also discussed the appalling situation in Gaza. We are both working

00:36to support efforts towards a ceasefire and also to demand the immediate unconditional release

00:44of the remaining hostages and the immediate unconditional humanitarian access that is so

00:50desperately needed to deliver aid at volume and at speed. Finally, we discussed the situation in

00:57Ukraine. Just a few days after Friedrich took office in May earlier this year, we were both in Kyiv,

01:06shoulder to shoulder with President Zelenskyy during one of the toughest moments in this horrendous war.

01:13Now we're leading the work to get the best kit to Ukraine as fast as possible. We'll keep pushing

01:19this forward together with the U.S. and other allies because ultimately our security starts in Ukraine.

01:27So this is a partnership with a purpose. I think it illustrates what our work on the international stage

01:33is all about. Building the foundations of stability across our continent that make us safer, boost our economy

01:42and deliver change across for our people. It's about delivering results and that's what we're working

01:49towards. And in a dangerous world, we do this together. The first thing we need to do is to get Putin to

01:58the table for an unconditional ceasefire. And that is why we've been talking for some time about peace

02:05through strength. And that is why we must provide Ukraine with the capability it needs to be in the

02:11strongest possible position and hence the intense work in recent days and weeks on capability. But

02:18that's not new. That's a discussion that's been going on for a very, very long time. Coupled, of course,

02:24with the economic sanctions, again, intended to get us to the position where Putin gets the table and we

02:29are beginning that discussion about peace and a ceasefire.

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