Britain and France are to take the lead in drawing up a Ukraine peace plan, says Sir Keir Starmer after the spectacular Oval Office clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
As European leaders were gathering in London for a crucial defence summit, the Prime Minister outlined how the UK and France would seek to avoid peace moves being derailed.
Following talks with Mr Zelensky in No10 on Saturday, Sir Keir told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg show: “As a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone, we have now agreed that the UK along with France and possibly one or two others will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting and then we will discuss that plan with the United States.”
He added that British and American teams would discuss the possibility of a US security guarantee “backstop” to support UK, French and other troops which could be deployed as peace-keepers in Ukraine if the fighting stops.
Earlier, Sir Keir Starmer issued a plea for European leaders to unite behind Ukraine as Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet King Charles on Sunday.
The Prime Minister also vowed to double down on the UK’s commitment to supporting Kyiv against Vladimir Putin’s three-year war.
He also appeared to stress the need to step up plans for Britain, France and other European countries to deploy troops as peace-keepers to Ukraine if the war is ended.
European nations want America to act as a security gurarantee “back-stop” for such a peace-keeping force, which could total around 30,000 military personnel.
But Trump pointedly refused to commit to this in his Oval Office showdown with Mr Zelensky.
Sir Keir said the clash made him feel “uncomfortable” but that his response was to seek to “bridge” the rift between Trump and Mr Zelensky.
A security guarantee from the Americans is the subject of “intense” discussion, he stressed, alongside a “strong Ukraine” backed up by European nations.
He added: “That’s the package, all three parts need to be in place.”
Ahead of hosting other European leaders in London, Sir Keir said: “Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security, and secure our collective future.”
In a strong sign of Britain’s support for Ukraine, King Charles was meeting Mr Zelensky on Sunday, reportedly at the Sandringham Royal estate.
The pair met during Mr Zelensky’s surprise visit to the UK in February 2023, when the King told him “we’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long”.
Some European countries may be tempted to cut back on their support for Ukraine if America is doing so.
The Prime Minister, who met the US president in Washington on Thursday, spoke again with him and Mr Zelensky folowing their falling-out on Friday which was beamed around the world, and delighted Putin’s regime.
The PM was holding talks with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Downing Street on Sunday morning, before being joined at the summit in central London by the leaders of, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Turkey’s foreign minister, and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Trump and Mr Zelensky clashed during an extraordinary and angry meeting at the White House this week, to which Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart to “make a deal or we’re out”.
The US president told Mr Zelensky to be “thankful” for three years of American support since Russia’s invasion, he accused him of “gambling with World War Three”.
