UK leader Starmer invited to EU meeting in latest sign of post-Brexit thaw

LONDON (AP) - Keir Starmer will attend a meeting of European Union leaders early next year, becoming the first U.K. prime minister to do so since the country's departure from the bloc in 2020.

Starmer was invited to the "informal" Feb. 3 meeting in Brussels by European Council President António Costa on Thursday, when the two officials met for talks at Starmer's office at 10 Downing St.

Starmer's office said that the prime minister was "pleased to accept the invitation and looked forward to discussing enhanced strategic cooperation with the EU, notably on defense."

The U.K. and the EU have also agreed to have regular leader-level summits, starting in early 2025.

At Thursday's meeting, Starmer and Costa discussed support for Ukraine in its almost three-year war against Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the fast-moving situation in Syria.

A joint U.K.-EU statement said that they "agreed on the importance of ensuring a peaceful transition towards long-term political stability following the fall of (President Bashar) Assad's brutal regime."

Starmer, whose center-left Labour Party was elected in July, says he wants to "reset" U.K. relations with the 27-nation EU after years of acrimony, deepening cooperation on security and restoring some of the trade ties frayed by Brexit.

Although he advocated remaining in the bloc during the 2016 Brexit referendum, Starmer has ruled out reversing the decision, or rejoining the EU's borderless single market and customs union, which would require the U.K. to accept many of the bloc's rules.

He also has resisted pressure to agree to a youth mobility deal that would let young people from Britain and the EU live and work in the other's territory for a time. A Starmer spokesman said there were "no plans" for such an agreement.