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Sanchez meets Starmer in London to discuss Ukraine and Gaza

Saim Dušan Inayatullah
September 3, 2025

The meeting comes as Britain moves to reset its post-Brexit ties with EU countries and after reaching a deal on Gibraltar with Spain. Meanwhile, Sanchez described the West's reaction to the war in Gaza as a "failure."

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shake hands in front of Spanish and British flags inside 10 Downing Street office
Sanchez and Starmer met in the British prime minster's Downing Street officeImage: Toby Melville/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez traveled to London on Wednesday to meet with British counterpart Keir Starmer.

This marks the first bilateral meeting between the heads of government of the two countries since 2017.

It comes after Britain announced a reset of relations with the EU in May of this year, five years after it left the bloc.

The UK and Spain have also moved to iron out disagreements around the British enclave of Gibraltar. London and Madrid announced in June that they had agreed to remove border checks between Gibraltar and Spain, while also allowing the territory to enter a customs union with the EU.

What will Sanchez and Starmer talk about at 10 Downing Street?

The two leaders are likely to discuss strengthening trade ties and also geopolitical questions such as the wars in Ukraine and in the Gaza Strip.

The United Kingdom is the largest destination for Spanish goods outside of the EU, with export volume reaching €24.4 billion ($28.5 billion) in 2024.

Sanchez is scheduled to attend a meeting with British and Spanish companies at Starmer's Downing Street office, Spanish daily El Pais reported. Among the firms to attend are Spanish bank Santander as well as British energy giant BP and the pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca.

On Ukraine, Starmer has spearheaded an attempt to gather a "coalition of the willing" to provide security guarantees for Kyiv. Sanchez has been somewhat more ambivalent, arguing that European troops should not be deployed while the conflict is ongoing.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
Sanchez has been one of the more critical Western leaders with respect to Israel's offensive in the Gaza StripImage: Toby Melville/AFP/Getty Images

Western policy on Gaza a 'failure' — Sanchez

Ahead of the Wednesday meeting, Sanchez said that Western countries' policies toward Gaza and Israel have been a "failure," saying they risked losing their standing in the world.

"At the end of the day, the world is looking at the EU and also at Western society and asking: 'Why are you doing double standards when it comes to Ukraine and when it comes to Gaza?'," he said in comments to British daily The Guardian, adding the West could lose "credibility when it comes to other crises, such as the one we face in Ukraine."

Spain was one of four European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood in 2024, a move London has been reluctant to carry out. Sanchez has also called for the EU to suspend its association agreement with Israel.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez