The British Prime Minister has found himself at the centre of efforts to bring about peace in Ukraine in recent days.
Demands on his schedule are coming from every direction as he tries to develop a "coalition of the willing", while also dealing with the unpredictability of the new US administration.
As one Downing Street official noted last night, each morning they are waking up to see what other major story has broken from across the Atlantic and rushing to react.
That same person noted, however, the prime minister is determined and sincere when it comes to resetting Anglo-Irish relations.
And so, despite an ever-changing geo-political environment, Keir Starmer stuck with plans to attend this week's UK-Ireland Summit.
Last night at a cultural reception in Liverpool, Mr Starmer told a room of people that he believed that the "relationship between the UK and Ireland has never reached its full potential and I'm delighted that now, with this summit, we're going to change all of that".
He added that he has "got great ambitions" and joked that he was also looking forward to "a bit of Guinness diplomacy".
As Mr Starmer mingled with the crowd at the event, it seemed as though he was enjoying a welcome break from the high-stakes diplomatic efforts he has been leading recently.
Officials involved in preparing for this week's UK-Ireland summit will admit that they would have liked to have been in a position to announce a more substantial body of work.
However, with the Irish election in November and subsequent coalition talks afterwards, progress on a joint body of work slowed somewhat.
Nevertheless, they believe that the communique agreed for today is a real statement of intent.
A press release from the Government described the UK-Ireland 2030 co-operation programme as "the most extensive policy engagement between the UK government and the Government of Ireland in a generation".
Both governments are promising to work more closely together across a range of areas including energy security, offshore wind, cyber security and trade.
While some might believe that the final communique is lighter on substance than they originally would have liked, one senior diplomat on the Irish side argued that the biggest "takeaway" from the summit is that "it happened".
Such an event would have been unimaginable under the previous UK government due to the toxicity of Brexit, they believed.
The summit may not be a game-changer for UK-Irish relations, but it reflects a fundamental shift in the relationship.
