British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has met with ex-president Donald Trump in Florida ahead of a visit to Washington to meet his US counterpart as the UK is affirming support for Ukraine and Israel.
According to media reports, Cameron met Trump on Monday night, on the eve of a planned trip to Washington.
In a statement on Monday, a Foreign Office spokesperson had announced that the foreign secretary would meet Trump in Florida.
“It is standard practice for ministers to meet with opposition candidates as part of their routine international engagement,” the spokesperson added.
The meeting took place as the UK is pushing to shore up support for Ukraine and unblock a new package of aid that hinges on ratification from the House of Representatives.
In February, the Senate passed a $95.3 billion aid package, backed by President Joe Biden. The bill, which includes about $60 billion to support Ukraine, has been stalled for weeks in the House as Republican Speaker Johnson has refused to allow a vote.
The Telegraph reported that Cameron and the presumptive Republican presidential candidate also discussed the future of NATO and the Israeli war on Gaza.
The visit comes as Trump has rallied against continued support for Ukraine, citing the NATO-led proxy war against Russia as a liability for Washington, arguing Kiev has the potential to “drop us like a dog.”
He has also questioned America’s commitment to NATO.
Cameron will also meet key figures across Congress to call on them to unblock the aid package.
“Success for Ukraine and failure for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin are vital for American and European security,” Cameron said before his trip.
During his meeting with Antony Blinken which is scheduled for Tuesday, Cameron is expected to set out the UK’s reasoning for continuing arms sales to Israel as the government faces pressure to halt the exports over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s intensified violence against Palestinians.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 33,207 Palestinians and injured nearly 75,933 others.
