British PM plans US visit in September for Patriot missiles for Kyiv

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is planning a visit to the United States in September together with a number of European leaders to discuss the procurement of Patriot missiles for Ukraine, according to American media reports.

According to a Bloomberg report, during the visit he and other European leaders will seek to persuade President Donald Trump to provide access to part of the US Patriot missile stockpile for Ukraine before winter.

Burnham told Bloomberg that he is likely to travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in September.

According to Burnham, European leaders are considering the possibility of holding another meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The meeting aims to obtain Patriot interceptor missiles from US and other countries’ stockpiles to be handed over to Kyiv.

Russia considers the supply of weapons to Ukraine to be hindering efforts to resolve the conflict and directly involving NATO countries in the conflict.

The Kremlin said the weaponry provided by Western countries to Ukraine is counterproductive to the negotiation process and will have a negative impact.