Zelenskyy becomes first foreign leader to join UK Cabinet meeting since '97

By Mehmet Solmaz

BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) — In a show of solidarity with Kyiv, the UK’s newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer made sure his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the first foreign leader to be hosted at Number 10 Downing Street.

Starmer first welcomed Zelenskyy at the prime ministerial office, where the two briefly addressed the media before preparing for a Cabinet meeting later in the day.

The Ukrainian leader is the first foreign leader to address the Cabinet in person since Bill Clinton in 1997.

Zelenskyy thanked the UK for its “unity” with and backing for Kyiv and said “we feel this support”.

The Ukrainian president said he wanted to discuss “strong decisions” regarding the war in his country.

“Thank you for the invitation for the privilege for me to be here. Thanks for this unity. We feel this support and your strong decisions … helped us to defend freedom and democracy in Ukraine and helped very much Ukrainian people.”

He then went on saying that he is looking to discuss with British minister how else the UK could support Ukraine.

Starmer said Zelenskyy’s visit to Downing Street was a “very special moment”.

“It’s a very special moment for us to reiterate our support for you and the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russian aggression and to have this opportunity to confirm again our resolve to stand with you, so thank you so much for accepting the invitation.”