Foreign Secretary David Lammy is set to lead the latest Ukraine peace talks, as officials from the war-torn nation are joined by US, British and European allies in London.
Wednesday’s gathering comes as Donald Trump’s administration continues to drive efforts to find peace between Russia and Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump has suggested he is hopeful the warring parties “will make a deal this week”.
But Kyiv could be forced to swallow a bitter pill under terms being ironed out between the US and Russia, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Vladimir Putin has offered to halt his invasion of Ukraine across its current front lines, the newspaper reported.
Among the ideas floated by the US for the settlement are Moscow’s continued control of occupied Ukrainian regions, and US recognition that Russia owns the Crimean peninsula, the FT said.
Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s envoy for Ukraine and Russia, will represent the US at the talks in London.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio is unable to attend due to a scheduling issue, while Steve Witkoff – a Trump envoy who has been deeply involved in negotiations – is set to return to Moscow this week.
Defence Secretary John Healey told the House of Commons on Tuesday that allies will discuss “next steps” during the talks, “including what a ceasefire might look like and how to secure peace in the long-term”.
He also slapped down Mr Putin’s claims that Russia had observed a promised Easter truce, telling MPs that British military intelligence had found no indication of a pause in fighting.
“While Putin has said he declared an Easter truce, he broke it; while Putin says he wants peace, he has rejected a full ceasefire; and while Putin says he wants to put an end to the fighting, he continues to play for time in the negotiations,” Mr Healey said.
The Russian military has continued “to pressure Ukraine on a number of fronts”, Mr Healey also said.
But he added: “I can confirm Russian military progress is slowing. Putin gained less territory in March than he did in February, less territory in February than he did in January.”
On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon, visited a military base in south west England to see the work done by allied nations to train Ukrainian troops.
The New Zealand premier’s visit was also a chance for the two countries to renew their defence ties.
Sir Keir last spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday to lay out the latest plans for the “coalition of the willing”, a peacekeeping force aimed at policing a future settlement.
