Sunak in the spotlight amid international issues

INEVITABLY, news of President Biden’s surprise first visit to Ukraine yesterday has dominated the headlines.

During his dramatic brief stay in Kyiv he is reported to have reassured President Zelensky directly about the unprecedented continuing military, economic and humanitarian support for Ukraine by a “coalition of nations”, and he is now on a three-day trip to Poland shortly before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

The purpose of the trip to Poland at a critical moment in Russia’s war with Ukraine seems to be to reiterate the US commitment to transatlantic security and to strengthen relations with countries in eastern Europe that are becoming a real force in the region. This is against the background of last week’s Munich Security Conference which until now had been topping the international news agenda. As well as a look at this today, it might be interesting to comment on the thorny issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol which is also much in the news at present because it is the key issue in determining the province’s political future. It has also become a bone of contention between the UK and the US.

The annual Munich gathering of heads of state and government - as well as others - is said to be the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy and key current foreign and security challenges. It is the largest meeting of its kind and has existed for more than half a century. This year, of course, it has been all about Western solidarity and common purpose in supporting Ukraine and, more broadly, an opportunity to take stock of countries’ commitment to the rules-based international order. While world leaders called for long-term support for Ukraine, British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, spoke of the need to “double down” on supply