Starmer: Ukraine deal must be ‘just’ and backed with ‘hard-edged’ guarantees

Volodymyr Zelensky will meet Europe’s key leaders in Downing Street for crisis talks as Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of Ukraine’s president.

Sir Keir Starmer will host Mr Zelensky along with French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz for private talks as efforts continue to find a way to end the war with Russia.

US president Mr Trump accused Mr Zelensky of having failed to read the latest peace plan, saying he was “a little disappointed” in the Ukrainian leader, while insisting Russia’s Vladimir Putin was “fine with it”.

Sir Keir said any peace deal would need to have “hard-edged” security guarantees for Ukraine to prevent Mr Putin restarting the war.

The Prime Minister and Mr Macron have been leading efforts with the “coalition of the willing” countries prepared to support Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, with the UK ready to commit troops  to the effort.

Sir Keir told the Press Association: “I’m looking forward to seeing President Zelensky in Downing Street, where we will have time for a private discussion about the peace plan in Ukraine.

“We’ve got Chancellor Merz and President Macron coming as well, so the four of us will have the opportunity to go through the various issues, to do it privately, and to make progress.

“It is important that we bear in mind that this conflict is nearly four years old, that Russia is the aggressor, and therefore, if there is to be a ceasefire, it needs to be just – because Ukraine has taken heavy, heavy losses and paid a very heavy price for a war which was not of their making – but it’s also got to be lasting, because we know Putin does not respect agreements that don’t have hard-edged security guarantees behind them, so that’s what we’ll be focusing on.”

Despite Mr Trump’s White House criticising European leaders for having “unrealistic expectations” about the war, Sir Keir paid tribute to 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.

“And I therefore pay tribute to him for that, and hopefully we can make some further progress this afternoon.”

Mr Zelensky’s visit to London comes after his officials concluded three days of talks with their US counterparts on those proposals as the White House presses Kyiv to accept a deal.

Over the weekend, Mr Zelensky said he had discussed “next steps” with Mr Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.

But the negotiators also acknowledged that any “real progress” will depend “on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace”.

Ukraine and its European allies are likely to insist that any ceasefire comes with security guarantees from both the US and the “coalition of the willing” convened by the UK and France, while also resisting the transfer of territory to Russia.

Sir Keir has repeatedly said that Ukraine must be allowed to determine its own future, while one of his senior ministers said on Sunday that the country must not be left “toothless” in the face of Russian aggression.

But Russia has repeatedly rejected the prospect of allied troops being stationed in Ukraine and continues to demand large swathes of Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace.

And Russian forces have continued their assault on Ukraine over the weekend.

At least four people were killed in drone and missile strikes on Sunday, while Moscow continues to target Ukrainian infrastructure in a bid to “weaponise” the cold by denying civilians access to heat and power.

During the meeting at No 10, Mr Zelensky is expected to hear updates on a host of support European allies are providing to Ukraine, including on how immobilised Russian assets could be utilised.

British officials suggested they were hopeful of movement on using these assets in the coming days.

The meeting also comes in the wake of the publication of a new US national security strategy that made improving relations with Moscow one of Washington’s top priorities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the document, saying it was broadly in line with Moscow’s own vision.

On Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters that Mr Zelensky has yet to read the US-authored peace proposal.

“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,” he 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 hasn’t read it.”

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is in Washington for talks with her US counterpart Marco Rubio.

She is expected to focus on efforts to secure an end to the war in Ukraine, as well as UK-US cooperation on global security and the ceasefire in Gaza.