https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/14/joe-biden-dismisses-russian-threats-during-meeting-with-keir-starmer

Joe Biden dismisses Russian threats during meeting with Keir Starmer

US and UK leaders’ talks dominated by row with Russia over use of Storm Shadow missiles

Joe Biden has dismissed the sabre-rattling threats made by Vladimir Putin as the US president met the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, at the White House.

Biden said on Friday afternoon he did not accept that Ukraine using western-made Storm Shadow missiles to bomb targets in Russia would amount to Nato going to war with Moscow.

At a foreign policy summit, Biden said: “I do not think much about Vladimir Putin.”

Biden and Starmer’s top foreign policy teams were meeting at the Blue Room in the White House. At the start of the meeting, James Matthews from Sky News jumped the gun by asking Biden: “What do you say to Vladimir Putin’s threat of war?”

Biden scolded him. “You be quiet, I’m going to speak, OK?” the president said, before beginning his prepared remarks.

Also present at the Blue Room meeting were Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, and David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary. Other British participants included Tim Barrow, the national security adviser, and Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray.

Starmer flew over from London on Thursday for the working meeting amid escalating tensions with the Kremlin after the UK had indicated that the US had agreed to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles to bomb Russia.

After the summit, Starmer said the meeting was not about a particular decision on Storm Shadow. “Well, we’ve had a long and productive discussion on a number of problems, including Ukraine, as you’d expect, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific, talking strategically about tactical decisions,” he said.

However, Biden indicated the topic came under discussion between the leaders and their teams. In response to a shouted question asking how soon he was prepared to let Ukraine fire missiles deeper into Russia, Biden said: “We’re going to discuss that now.”

Neither of the presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, were in the capital and available to meet Starmer because both were campaigning.

Starmer said he had never spoken to Harris. The prime minister did speak to Trump briefly after the former president survived an assassination attempt in the summer.

The British Storm Shadow missiles, made by a European company, can strike targets at least 190 miles away and Ukraine wants to use them to bomb airbases, missile sites and other military targets in the Russian heartlands.

These fucking lunatics won't be happy until they are ruling a smoking wasteland.