Sir Keir Starmer spoke to European leaders ahead of Friday’s meeting between President Trump and President Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, as ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore and Political Correspondent Carl Dinnen reports.
There could be a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin “almost immediately” after the Russian president’s summit with Donald Trump, the US president has said.
Speaking after a round of virtual meetings with European leaders and Zelenskyy, Trump told reporters: “If the first one goes okay, we’ll have a quick second one.
“I would like to do it almost immediately, and we’ll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they’d like to have me there.”
Trump said “great” things could be achieved with his meeting in Alaska with Putin on Friday, but said its primary purpose was “setting the table for the second meeting”.
But he also acknowledged the success of Friday’s summit was not guaranteed and a second meeting may not take place, saying there would be “severe consequences” if Putin doesn’t agree to stop the war after the summit.
The president said his call with European leaders on Wednesday was a success, saying: “I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly.”
Zelenskyy, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders echoed the sentiment on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelenskyy said, “Trump supported us today” and said the US is ready to continue that support.
At the press conference, Zelenskyy praised the US, saying everyone wants “peace in Ukraine, peace in Europe”.
But he also criticised Putin, saying he told the members of the meeting that “Putin is bluffing” about recent Russian advances in order to try and appear to have a stronger hand on Friday.
He also said: “Putin is also bluffing saying he doesn’t care about the sanctions and that they’re not working.”
Following the virtual meeting with Trump, Starmer chaired a meeting of his Coalition of the Willing, a group of nations led by France and the UK that have said they would commit military resources to defend Ukraine after the war is over.
In a joint statement issued by Starmer, Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, they welcomed Trump’s efforts to end the war.
They issued four demands they believed necessary to secure long-term peace.
First, a ceasefire must be secured before a peace deal could be negotatied, the
Second, sanctions against Russia should be enhanced if no road to a ceasefire is agreed on Friday.
Third, they said “international borders must not be changed by force.”
Finally, they said Ukraine must have credible security guarantees to defend itself against future aggression.
Starmer said after the meetings that there was a “viable” chance of reaching a ceasefire because of Trump’s work and “real progress” had been made towards peace.
But the prime minister said it may be necessary to “increase pressure” on Russia if it derails ceasefire efforts.
He also said plans have already been formed to deploy a “reassurance force” once a ceasefire has been agreed.
The coalition is made up of 31 countries that have pledged strengthened support for Kyiv, including 27 European countries, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Speaking at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, US Vice President JD Vance praised the British-American alliance and doubled down on Trump’s peace efforts.
Vance, who is on holiday in the UK with his family, said Trump told him on Wednesday, “that we are going to make it our mission as an administration to bring peace to Europe once again”.
Posting to his social media site, Truth Social, the US president said that European leaders want to “see a deal done”.
Trump has said a peace deal with Russia would require Ukraine to give up some Russian-held territory and could include some “land swapping” with Ukraine.
But Zelenskyy said he would not give eastern Ukraine to Russia or withdraw from the territories that it controls, warning it would act as a “springboard for a future new offensive”.
Writing on his official Telegram channel, the Ukrainian President said there was currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war,” and urged Ukraine’s partners in the United States and Europe to coordinate efforts and “force Russia to peace”.
“Pressure must be applied on Russia for an honest peace. We must take the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception by Russia,” Zelenskyy said.
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