LONDON: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the US “understands” his government’s decision to partly suspend arms sales to Israel.
His comments to the BBC followed reports that Washington had been angered by the move, according to The Independent.
However, Starmer said that the Biden administration “understands the decision we have taken” and was forewarned about the suspension.
The UK suspended about 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel earlier this week after a review that warned of a “clear risk” of British weapons or parts being used by Israel to breach international humanitarian law in its war in Gaza.
After the suspension was announced by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned what he described as a “shameful decision.”
Starmer told the BBC: “We have been talking to the US. We have been talking to the US beforehand and afterward, and they’re very clear that they’ve got a different legal system, and they understand the decision that we’ve taken.
“So, that’s very clear.”
Starmer will make his second visit to the US next week.
He is expected to meet President Joe Biden in Washington on Sept. 13 to discuss an “ever more pressing situation” in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“What I want to have the opportunity for is a more strategic discussion about the next few months in relation to Ukraine and in relation to the Middle East,” he said.
