Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, has strongly criticized Donald Trump’s proposed plan for peace in Ukraine, arguing that it would effectively “reward” Russian President Vladimir Putin for his violent invasion.
In a pointed foreign policy speech at the Policy Exchange think tank, Badenoch warned that the era of “Pax Americana,” in which global stability has been largely maintained by the U.S., might be “evolving” or even coming to an end.
Badenoch also took issue with Trump’s recent comments calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator,” asserting that it was Putin who truly fit that description. “Putin is the dictator, and I’d be happy to tell Trump that to his face,” she said.
The Conservative leader emphasized the significance of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s upcoming visit to the White House, describing it as “absolutely critical” to shift Trump’s stance away from aligning with the Kremlin.
Badenoch warned against the danger of negotiating an end to the war while a fifth of Ukraine’s territory remains under Russian occupation. She cautioned that such a resolution could embolden authoritarian regimes like Russia.
In addition, Badenoch criticized Britain’s current defense spending plans, stating that the commitment to increase spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030 was no longer sufficient. She urged Starmer to explore alternative funding sources for defense, including reallocating part of the budget currently used for development aid and looking at potential welfare savings to increase defense expenditure.
