Putin Meeting Overshadows UK Pacific Summit as Leaders Opt Out

(Bloomberg) -- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed concerns that his first Commonwealth summit is being overshadowed by Vladimir Putin’s BRICS event, after some leaders chose to skip it in favor of meeting the Russian president.

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Starmer will arrive in Samoa on Thursday to hold talks with delegations from 54 other Commonwealth nations on topics including climate change, trade and economic growth, marking the first time a UK premier has visited a Pacific island country.

The premier’s visit alongside King Charles III, comes as the UK faces pressure to increase its overseas aid budget and pay slavery reparations to a number of members of the Commonwealth — an association with roots in the former British empire.

Starmer told reporters on the flight to Samoa that which summit the leaders attend is a matter for them. “The Commonwealth family is really important,” he said. “It’s an incredible opportunity, there’s 55 countries that are represented there, quite a significant number of that at leader level.”

Nevertheless, some of the most high-profile Commonwealth leaders including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa are instead attending Putin’s summit of BRICS countries, the largest gathering of world leaders in Russia since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Canada’s Justin Trudeau is also skipping the Commonwealth summit, but isn’t at the BRICS meeting. The leaders of Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are expected to hold bilateral meetings with Starmer in Samoa.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to cut spending on overseas aid in her budget next week, the Financial Times reported ahead of Starmer’s bilateral meetings with many Commonwealth nations which rely on such aid. Starmer said leaders are most interested in how the UK can help them work with international and financial institutions.

He also dismissed calls by some Caribbean nations for European countries to compensate them for the historic legacy of slavery.

“This is about looking forward rather than looking backwards,” Starmer said. “I’d rather roll up my sleeves and work with them on the current future-facing challenges than spend a lot of time on the past — that’s my focus.”

--With assistance from Alex Morales.

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