London: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met French, German and British leaders in London on Monday amid what Kyiv’s European allies described as a “decisive time” in the US-led effort to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer held talks with Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the British leader’s 10 Downing St residence to try to strengthen Ukraine’s hand amid mounting impatience from US President Donald Trump.
“This is the furthest we’ve got in four years, and we welcome the fact that these talks are continuing at every level,” said Starmer’s spokesman, Tom Wells, adding: “It isn’t a straight line between conflict and peace.”
He said “intensive work” will continue in the coming days, although “there are still outstanding issues.”
Macron’s office said the session allowed the leaders “to continue joint work on the US plan in order to complement it with European contributions, in close coordination with Ukraine.”
In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader “hasn’t yet read the proposal”.
“Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it,” Trump said in Washington. “His people love it, but he hasn’t read it.”
It’s not clear why Trump thought Zelenskyy hadn’t read the plan or who he was saying loved it. Ukrainian officials have made sparing comments about it and few details of the negotiations have been made public. Starmer, Macron and Merz took a more supportive stance toward Kyiv in comments before their Monday meeting, which lasted about two hours. The UK leader said the push for peace was at a “critical stage,” and stressed the need for “a just and lasting ceasefire”. Merz, meanwhile, said he was “sceptical” about some details in documents released by the US. “We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he said. “The coming days... could be a decisive time for all of us.”
European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the US to deter Russia from attacking again. Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.
Zelenskyy said late Sunday that his talks with European leaders this week in London and Brussels will focus on security, air defence and long-term funding for Ukraine’s war effort. He said Monday that Ukraine needs support from both Europe and the US.
“There are some things we can’t manage without the Americans, things which we can’t manage without Europe, and that’s why we need to make some important decisions,” he said at Downing Street.
Macron’s office said national security advisers are finalising ways to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees and to plan measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
US and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the US administration’s peace proposal.