WASHINGTON, Aug 5 - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband held a meeting in Washington on Wednesday that centered on Europe assuming a larger role in its own security, the State Department said in a statement.
Rubio told reporters prior to the meeting that Ukraine would figure in their discussions. The comment came amid intensified appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for additional air defense missiles, a response to what was described in reporting as an escalation in Russian ballistic missile strikes.
According to the U.K. Foreign Office, Miliband intended during the meeting to emphasize that Ukraine’s security is inseparable from the security of Europe and the transatlantic alliance. The ministry also said he planned to reiterate the United Kingdom’s commitment to support Ukraine "for as long as it takes."
The State Department said the pair also reaffirmed shared priorities beyond Europe: maintaining safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring that Iran never develops or acquires a nuclear weapon.
In a statement released ahead of the encounter, Miliband pointed to the economic implications of disruptions to Gulf shipping lanes. He stressed the importance of reopening the waterway to help ease Britain’s cost of living pressures. The Foreign Office added that Miliband would raise the "dire humanitarian situation in Gaza" during his Washington discussions.
This meeting was Miliband’s second substantive interaction with Rubio; their first was a brief introduction at the ASEAN meeting in Manila in July, the U.K. ministry said. The statement also noted that Miliband, who serves as Britain’s governor on the World Bank board, planned to meet World Bank President Ajay Banga during a short visit to Washington.
The officials’ exchanges in Washington combined diplomatic signaling on Ukraine and transatlantic burden-sharing with discussions of maritime security and nuclear non-proliferation. The agenda also linked regional economic concerns - specifically the reopening of Gulf shipping lanes - with humanitarian issues in Gaza that Miliband planned to raise.