UK Defence Minister Heads to Washington, Says UK-U.S. Relationship Strong as Ever

The British Secretary of State for Defence John Healey will travel to Washington this week for talks with United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, where the men are due to advance work towards peace in Ukraine, amid other issues.

Defence Minister Healey hailed the state of the ‘special relationship’, the unique state of affairs engendered by common language, heritage, and liberties and formalised by the Second World War, as he prepared to travel to Washington D.C. this week for Ukraine war talks. As well as how to bring peace to eastern Europe with Secretary of Defense Hegseth, Healey is also expected to discuss the new ‘AUKUS’ nuclear submarine triad between the U.S., Britain, and Australia, and is due to attend an event commemorating the 250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

The visit comes at a critical time for Europe, following by just days as it does the British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s well-received visit to Trump at the White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous attempt to bounce Trump into concessions in front of the news cameras at the Oval Office, and latterly Zelensky’s recanting and insistence he is in fact ready for peace. President Trump is withholding U.S. aid to Ukraine until Zelensky agrees to come to the negotiating table, and Britain’s Sir Keir is attempting to play a leading role as the ‘bridge’ between the U.S. and EU, bolstered by his surprisingly successful bid to establish a good personal rapport with the President.

The purpose of Healey’s trip is to further those relations and move forward on peace, he said in a statement before his departure ahead of meetings in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday. “Amid a period of growing global instability, the unique and special relationship between the UK and US is as strong as ever, underlined by a shared commitment to freedom and democracy”, he said, while signposting Britain’s support for President Trump’s insistence that Europe must now be more responsible for its own defence.

“It is crucial that the UK and Europe step up further to take more responsibility for our security, and we are doing so. In the face of increasing global threats, we are cementing our ties as Nato allies, bolstering our national security and economic security, too”, he said.

As for what comes now, Healey said he will “advance” the work of securing a “path to a lasting peace in Ukraine” in Washington this week.

While all European leaders seem to basically understand that the era of gross under-investment in national defence because the U.S. is always able to take up the slack is close to over, how they decide to respond varies wildly. On one hand the British approach, as spoken by Healey, is to accept that times are changing and to encourage other NATO members to pick up the slack.

This appears to work, with such rhetoric being warmly received in Washington even if, as is the case with Britain, the actual boost to defence spending is negligible.

On the other hand, some European leaders are boosting their defence spending or military posture, but can’t bear to be seen agreeing with the unfashionable-in-Europe President Trump in public. The somewhat cynical answer to this conundrum is framing doing exactly what Trump wants but as an act of defiance, boosting European defence to spite America.

Healey’s comments on pushing forward a path to peace come as Ukraine’s President Zelensky wrote to President Trump, he said in his address to Congress, that he’d had a change of heart and was ready to sign the minerals deal. President Trump said that he appreciated the gesture and stated it read: “We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.”