As Foreign Secretary James Cleverly embarks on a two-day visit to the USA and Canada, Ukraine will be at the top of his agenda.

Before his departure, Mr Cleverly stated that the United Kingdom, USA, and Canada have always had each other’s backs, and they have been protecting the rules-based order for almost 80 years.

He said, “Today, we stand united against Putin’s illegal war, but we will continue to use the unique strength of our defence and security ties in order to ensure that the Ukrainian people win in the end.”

He will give a keynote address at Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies. At this speech, he will outline Britain’s foreign policies priorities and then meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. They will then hold a joint press conference.

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Monday’s announcement by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was that British tanks, artillery pieces, and armoured vehicle were to be sent to Ukraine.

Cleverly will use the British pledge to convince the Americans and Canadians to follow his lead. He will stress the importance of quickly delivering the necessary battlefield tools to Ukraine to enable them to win the war.

Over the past 11 months, the United States has delivered weaponry worth billions to Ukraine. However, this was only in carefully controlled tranches that have limited capabilities for Russia.

Prime Minister Rishi Sonak stated that he is committed in accelerating the UK’s diplomatic, military and financial assistance to Ukraine as Russia prepares for a new offensive.

This week, President Biden’s top team members are visiting the Ukrainian capital for meetings with President Zelenskyy.

After meetings in Germany, Poland, and where they discussed continuing US support for Ukraine, Antony Blinken’s deputy Wendy Sherman (Dr. Colin Kahl), and Jon Finer (principal deputy national security advisor) are now all in Kyiv.

The British government is hopeful that the US will discuss the unfinished UK-US trade agreement with them, even if it’s not in Ukraine.

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On Wednesday, Cleverly will be in Toronto to discuss British efforts for membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. This is a key free trade deal between 11 countries, including Canada.

Although Britain has completed the final phase of CPTPP accession but there are still disagreements over the level of market access that Britain would receive from other members.

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Discussions between Mr Cleverly & Mr Blinken will also include Northern Ireland. The UK will seek US support as speculation builds that there may be a compromise between the EU and UK over the Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

Biden has shown that he is interested in the negotiations regarding Northern Ireland. He has also made it clear that the UK’s handling could affect the prospects of a US-UK trade agreement.