Andy Burnham pledges support for Ukraine in peace talks and pushes for European access

Andy Burnham has promised Volodymyr Zelensky his “complete support” in the latest efforts to end the Ukraine war and said he would push for European representation in the US-brokered talks.

The Prime Minister co-chaired a group meeting on Ukraine with the country’s president at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Ireland on Thursday.

Mr Burnham was using the Dublin gathering to urge leaders from some 50 nations to ramp up pressure on Vladimir Putin to take peace talks seriously.

And he announced a fresh package of sanctions on Moscow, covering all 10 of Russia’s major oil producers.

At the Ukraine meeting, Mr Burnham said allies of Ukraine welcomed the resumption of peace talks but said Europe should play a part.

It comes after representatives from the US, Russia and Ukraine participated in the two days of negotiations in Abu Dhabi on ending the war triggered by Russia’s 2022 invasion, with Mr Zelensky stressing he wanted to see Europe involved, something Russia opposes.

The Prime Minister said at the start of the EPC Ukraine meeting while media were present: “I’m sure I speak for everybody in saying you have our complete support, both in terms of resisting the aggression that you continue to face, but also in the negotiation process that has started.”

Leaders from some 50 countries are attending the European Political Community summit in Dublin. PA Media

He added that allies will try to support Ukraine “in every way possible through that process”, and “we will obviously continue to press for European representation in that process”.

Mr Burnham and Mr Zelensky sat side by side at the head of the table at the meeting attended by more than a dozen leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Ireland’s Micheál Martin and Canada’s Mark Carney, as well as the presidents of the EU Commission and Council and the chief of Nato.

Downing Street earlier said the new sanctions on Russia included shadow fleet vessels illicitly transporting Russian oil, Russian oil company Slavneft, and Rosneft’s flagship Arctic oil and gas project LLC Vostok Oil.

Mr Burnham will also use the EPC summit to “drive forward the UK’s ambition for a new relationship with the European Union”, No 10 said.

Ahead of the EPC, he said: “Peace talks on Ukraine have progressed but now is not the time for complacency – we must continue to ramp up pressure on Russia to agree a full and immediate ceasefire.

“That is why the UK has announced a sweep of stinging new sanctions to turn the screws on Russia’s oil revenues and drive forward an end to the Kremlin’s needless war.

“We all now need to harness the momentum on negotiations and find a way forward for our security at home, and the security of our continent.”

The Labour leader arrived in Dublin on Thursday afternoon after flying in from Turkey, where he briefly attended the UN Cop31 climate conference.

He has recently reopened the debate about Britain’s future relationship with the bloc and is preparing for a UK-EU summit in Brussels next Friday.

He was meeting some European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for the first time face-to-face in the margins of the EPC, as he warms up for the Brussels summit.

In a bilateral meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Mr Burnham said they would work to get a deal “over the line” ahead of next week.

The pair will see each other again in the Belgian capital to sign agreements on food and farming, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme.

At the Dublin gathering, the Prime Minister also co-chaired a defence and security roundtable with Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, in which leaders discussed rising hybrid threats.