Keir Starmer and other European leaders held crisis talks with Volodymyr Zelensky in Downing Street amid fears the US President could rush Kyiv into a botched peace deal
Ukraine’s allies rallied around Kyiv tonight amid intense pressure from Donald Trump to agree to a peace deal.
Volodymyr Zelensky held crisis talks in London with Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz after negotiations between US and Ukrainian officials ended without a breakthrough. Fears are mounting that the US President could sell out Kyiv through a botched deal with Russia as he grows impatient with the pace of peace talks.
European leaders said there must be “robust security guarantees” to any peace deal and said Europe must stand with Ukraine in the face of Vladimir Putin’s brutal onslaught, according to a Downing Street readout of the meeting. They also discussed “positive progress” to unlock billions of pounds of frozen Russian assets seized by European countries after Moscow’s illegal invasion.
British officials believe there could be movement in the coming days to free up funds to help Ukraine. However it is unclear how much of the nearly €200 billion held by European countries could be unlocked. The PM previously said the UK was ready to move with the EU on the proposals but Belgium has voiced concerns over the financial and legal risks.
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Ukraine and its allies have grown nervous that Mr Trump could try to force through a damaging deal after the US drew up a 28-point plan that was widely seen as favourable to Moscow. Ukrainian and US officials spent three days in Miami locked in negotiations on a revised version but no breakthrough appeared to be reached.
At the weekend, Donald Trump Jr – who has no formal role in his father’s administration – suggested Mr Trump “may” walk away from peace efforts. And Mr Trump renewed his criticism of President Zelensky on Sunday night as he accused the Ukrainian leader of failing to read the latest version of a US-brokered plan.
“I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago. His people love it, but he hasn’t,” Mr Trump said. “Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelensky’s fine with it. His people love it. But he isn’t ready.”
It comes after the new US national security strategy blamed European officials for standing in the way of a deal. The blueprint was welcomed by the Kremlin when it was published last week.
Mr Zelensky said ahead of the meeting today that his country “can’t manage” without European and American support. He said: “A lot of what we have to discuss… are things that are very important for unity between Europe and Ukraine, and also unity between Europe and Ukraine and the United States.
“We can’t manage without Americans, we can’t manage without Europe and that is why we need to make some important decisions.”
Mr Macron meanwhile insisted Ukraine’s allies have “a lot of cards”, in what appeared to be a veiled swipe at Mr Trump, who told President Zelensky “you don’t have the cards” in his Oval Office meltdown in February.
However Mr Starmer praised the US President. “You can never get from conflict to peace by an easy, straight route,” he said. “It’s always a complicated business, but I do think that we’re making progress, and I think what President Trump has been able to achieve in the last few weeks, getting it this far, has been the furthest we’ve got in the four years.”
The Prime Minister said the peace talks had reached a “critical stage” but the UK’s support for Ukraine and a “just and lasting ceasefire” was steadfast.
Downing Street said the leaders had tasked their national security advisers to continue the talks in the coming days.
A spokesperson said: “The leaders underscored the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, which includes robust security guarantees. The leaders agreed that, while diplomatic efforts continue, Europe must stand with Ukraine, strengthening its ability to defend against relentless attacks that have left thousands without heat or light.
“They also discussed positive progress made to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.” The Prime Minister convened a call with other European allies after the meeting, where they agreed to “continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war”, the spokesperson said.