Keir Starmer headed a Coalition of the Willing meeting as crunch talks aimed at securing peace in Ukraine continue – hours after NATO boss Mark Rutte warned about Putin’s ‘next target’
Keir Starmer has said Ukraine is at a “pivotal” moment – hours after NATO’s chief said Europe must be ready for war on the scale endured by “our grandparents or great-grandparents”.
The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ nations as the White House attempts to push through a peace plan. Mr Starmer insisted that Donald Trump and European leaders want the same thing – a “just and lasting” peace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has presented US officials with a list of demands as they attempt to broker a deal with Vladimir Putin’s war machine. There are widespread fears that the Trump administration is pushing for terms favourable to Putin.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage’s school responds to racism allegations – ‘at odds with our values’READ MORE: Israel must lift restrictions on aid to war-torn Gaza as winter bites, Yvette Cooper demands
Earlier NATO chief Mark Rutte urged member states to do more to prepare for war. He said in a speech in Berlin: “We are Russia’s next target. And we are already in harm’s way.”
And he went on: “Russia has brought war back to Europe, and we must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great grandparents endured.”
The UK and French-led coalition of the willing has pledged to support Ukraine and deter Russia if a ceasefire is reached. Mr Zelensky has voiced his opposition to giving up land and making a string of concessions to Moscow.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister co-chaired a virtual meeting of the Coalition of the Willing this afternoon. The Prime Minister updated allies on this week’s engagements with other international partners and on the continued intensive work on the US-led peace plan.
“They all agreed this is a pivotal moment for Ukraine, its people, and for the security we all share across the Euro-Atlantic region. President Zelensky updated the group on the continued Russian bombardment of Ukraine, killing innocent civilians and destroying critical infrastructure.
“The leaders then discussed the significant progress made in starving Russia ’s war machine through coordinated sanctions and enforcement, and in stepping up support for Ukraine. They also discussed the progress made on mobilising frozen Russian Sovereign Assets.
“As Ukraine enters its fourth winter of fighting, the leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to fund military support. The Prime Minister underscored that the UK would continue to work closely with partners to maintain pressure on Russia and provide Ukraine with the support it needs for as long as it takes.”
In response to Mr Rutte’s remarks, No10 said: “I think we’ve been clear in many months that Russia’s war in Ukraine affects our national security as well – whether that’s things like undersea cables or issues such as that.
“You’ve seen our uptick in defence spending and the commitment we’ve made there, and the Prime Minister’s words on importance of NATO overall.”
He added: “The national security of this country is clearly the number one priority of this Government and any government, but I’ll just point you to the commitments that we have made on defence spending as clear evidence of just how seriously we take that commitment.”