Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Sunday as European leaders assembled in London to discuss ending the war.
The meeting has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by U.S. President Donald Trump, who blasted him Friday at the White House as being ungrateful for U.S. support against the invasion by Russia.
But Starmer said he’s focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with Trump, Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron rather than “ramp up the rhetoric.”
We’ve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States,” Starmer told the BBC. Starmer and Macron have both spoken to Trump since Friday.
Sunday’s meeting, an important step
The London meeting has taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and shoring up the continent’s defenses.
Sunday’s summit dwelt on, among other issues, establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire. Starmer said it would involve “a coalition of the willing.”
Starmer said he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump. “Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes,” he said.
Starmer said there are “intense discussions” to get a security guarantee from the U.S.
If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again,” Starmer said. “That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there’s a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.”
The three essentials Starmer listed for a successful peace deal were: arming the Ukrainians to put them in a position of strength; including a European element to guarantee security; and providing a “U.S. backstop,” to prevent Putin from breaking promises.
That’s the package. All three parts need to be in place, and that’s what I’m working hard to bring together,” Starmer said.
Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following a charm offensive last week to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe.
Leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were in attendance.
European leaders are backing Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe after the White House fiasco, an exceptional attack on an ally broadcast on live television.
Starmer embraced Zelenskyy as he arrived at the meeting Sunday, one of the final arrivals.
Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war.
Meetings in recent days had provided some hope — until Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House.
Visits to the Oval Office by Macron, who had declared his visit a “turning point,” and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops.
