BRITISH Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that European leaders would draft a peace plan for Ukraine, which will be presented to the United States.
He described the move as a vital step for Washington to be able to offer security guarantees that Kyiv says are essential to ending its conflict with Moscow.
Starmer revealed this on Sunday during a summit in London, two days after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy clashed with U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House.
Zelenskiy had sought to use the meeting to persuade Trump not to align with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a devastating war on Ukraine three years ago.
He was also to sign a US-Ukrainian pact that would allow the US to have access to Ukraine’s mineral resources as part of a US-brokered post-war recovery plan.
The atmosphere became tense as Trump and his vice, James David Vance, clashed with Zelensky, accusing him of gambling with World War III and lacking gratitude for US support during the three-year war against Russia, a development that made Zelensky leave the White House without signing the deal.
However, Moscow thinks Trump’s furious dressing-down of Zelensky in the Oval Office was a trap by the US to discredit the Ukrainian leader and remove him as an obstacle to whatever comes next.
Moscow is now anticipating talks aimed at rebuilding the US-Russia relationship will continue in the weeks ahead.
Amid the flurry of European diplomacy designed to shore up Western support for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said France and Britain had proposed a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine that would cover air, sea and energy infrastructure attacks but not include ground fighting.
“Such a truce on air, sea and energy infrastructure would allow us to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a truce. And that’s when real peace negotiations could start,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.
The European leaders have shown strong support for the Ukrainian president in the past few days, pledging to step up efforts to assist his country, a plan seen as a crucial step for Washington to provide security guarantees that Kyiv considers essential to deter Russia’s further aggression.
European leaders agreed they must spend more on defence to show Trump the continent could protect itself, and the European Commission chief suggested the bloc could ease rules that limit debt levels.
A block’s plan
Earlier, Zelenskiy told reporters that Ukraine would not cede any territory to Russia as part of a peace agreement and said he was willing to sign a minerals deal with the United States.
He said he believed he could salvage his relationship with Trump after Friday’s shouting match, but that talks would have to take place behind closed doors.
The European leaders agreed they must spend more on defence to show Trump the continent could protect itself, and the European Commission chief suggested the bloc could ease rules that limit debt levels.
Starmer, who welcomed a visibly shaken Zelenskiy on Saturday with a warm hug, said Britain, Ukraine, France and some other nations would form a “coalition of the willing” and draw up a peace plan to take to Trump.
“This is not a moment for more talk. It’s time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace,” Starmer said.
Zelenskiy said after the meeting that he left London with “Europe’s clear support” and readiness to cooperate.
“There will be diplomacy for the sake of peace,” he said, adding, “And for the sake of us all being together – Ukraine, all of Europe, and definitely America.”
Europe hopes to ensure that Kyiv is not squeezed out of any talks after the Oval Office clash raised fears that the U.S. could pull out support for Ukraine and impose a peace plan negotiated with Russia.
Starmer increased the UK’s defence spending before he visited Washington last week, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said some European leaders had privately set out new plans on defence spending at the meeting but he declined to give details.
Pressure on Zelenskiy to change course or resign
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.