By LONDON — Ahead of an emergency summit in London on Sunday to discuss the war in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States.
“The U.K. and France are the most advanced on the thinking of this and that is why President [Emmanuel] Macron and I are working on this plan, which we will then discuss with the U.S.,” Starmer said during an interview on the BBC, the British broadcaster.
“In other words, we’ve got to find those countries in Europe that are prepared to be a bit more forward leaning,” he added.
The plan emerged from an effort to contain the fallout of an extraordinary exchange between Trump and Zelenskyy at the Oval Office days earlier, where the president berated the Ukrainian leader for not being “grateful” to the U.S. for its support.
“Nobody wants to see that,” Starmer said Sunday.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at No. 10 Downing St. on Saturday.Peter Nicholls / Getty Images
Referencing previous meetings with Trump, including at the White House earlier last week, Starmer said he was convinced that the president wanted to see “a lasting peace” in Ukraine.
But Starmer reiterated that no peace deal with Ukraine would be possible without a security guarantee from the U.S. “I’ve always been clear that that is going to need a U.S. backstop because I don’t think it would be a guarantee without it,” he said.
Sunday’s summit will see the British leader host leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania, along with the European Union’s Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Turkey’s foreign minister will also be attending.
During the summit, the British leader is expected to push his European counterparts to offer more concrete pledges of support to Ukraine in the hopes of reviving a peace deal with Russia.
So far, most European leaders have verbally expressed support for Ukraine rather than trying to match the U.S. in weaponry and ammunition.
The U.K. became the first European nation to increase defense spending and offer to deploy peacekeeping troops, while Germany on Saturday called for the quick release of $3.1 billion in Ukraine aid.
Expressing solidarity with Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock presented a six-point plan to enhance Ukraine’s and Europe’s security.
“Many of you will have slept badly last night after watching the unspeakable video from the White House. Me too, to be honest,” Baerbock said in a statement Saturday.
“Unfortunately, it was not just a bad dream, it is harsh reality. Today, we are more horrified than ever, but also more committed. More committed to the people in Ukraine, to our own security and to peace in Europe,” she added.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed Europe’s peacekeeping efforts, saying on Sunday that European leaders continued to “incite Kyiv for a war against us.”
While criticizing European leaders for leaping to Zelenskyy’s defense, Lavrov praised Trump for his “common sense” in pushing for an end to the war.
“U.S. President Donald Trump understands everything. … He is behaving correctly,” he said, while calling the president “a pragmatist.”
Lavrov’s remarks echoed statements from the Kremlin made earlier this week over the United States’ dramatic shift in foreign policy, and what it sees as closer alignment with Russia’s interests.
“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from state television in an interview recorded Wednesday.
