Cameron prefers charm to offensive in Blinken love-in

‘I come here with no intention to lecture anybody’. David Cameron’s line mid-press conference summed up the Foreign Secretary’s approach on his trip stateside. Appearing alongside his counterpart Anthony Blinken, Cameron emphasised the extent to which Britain and America are acting in lockstep on Ukraine, Gaza and other various crises. ‘In a time of danger like this international affairs, close alliances really matter’ he said.

Cameron’s trepidation is understandable: he is due to have meetings later today with skeptical congressional leaders on giving further aid to Ukraine. On his last visit to Washington, Cameron suggested that to not provide further funds risked ‘replicating weakness displayed against Hitler in the 1930s’; comments which prompted a mixed reaction from hostile Republicans. This time, he was at pains to insist ‘it is not for foreign politicians to tell legislators in another country what to do’, with his arguments explicitly couched in terms of America’s own self-interest.