PM's honeymoon on world stage continuespublished at 19:07 British Summer Time 18 July
Nick Eardley
Political correspondent
![UK PM Keir Starmer with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/640/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2024/7/18/0a799b3b-6604-4f19-9c60-c0ca954727db.jpg.webp)
Had he not called the election, Rishi Sunak would have hosted this summit.
Instead, we saw his successor seek to assert himself on the world stage.
And I imagine No 10 will be very pleased with how it’s gone.
The prime minister had a chance to rub shoulders with European leaders who will be key partners while he’s in office. Many of them were very helpful indeed in their language, praising the new prime minister and echoing his language on a “reset” in relations.
Starmer got his chance to assert his steadfast support for Ukraine, flanked by President Zelensky in the main summit meeting.
The PM also made it abundantly clear he wanted a better - and closer - relationship with Europe.
Action will, of course, be harder. For example, both the prime minister and President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged there was no “silver bullet” when it comes to stopping small boats crossing the Channel.
And there will be limits to what can be achieved. In the post-Brexit world, European leaders don’t want to give the UK special treatment. A closer relationship will require concessions
But for Starmer, the new leader's honeymoon on the world stage seems to be continuing. He’ll be pretty happy indeed with his first summit on home soil.