Paul KirbyEurope digital editor
Getty ImagesUK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has told a summit of about 30 Western countries that they had an “unbreakable pledge” to Ukraine that was backed by the US, and now had to press Russia to end the war in Ukraine, a Downing Street spokeswoman says.
Sir Keir, who was co-chairing a largely virtual meeting with France’s Emmanuel Macron, warned that Russia’s Vladimir Putin could not be trusted as he continued to delay peace talks while continuing the 40-month full-scale war.
Hopes of a Ukraine-Russia summit to end the fighting have receded since Russia’s Vladimir Putin met Donald Trump in Alaska last month. In the latest violence, two people clearing mines were killed in a Russian attack in northern Ukraine.
Trump, who still believes a deal is possible, spoke over the phone to Western allies after the meeting.
The US president has indicated he is willing to help Ukraine secure a deal, “probably” with air support. Details so far are vague, but air support could include help with air defence or intelligence.
Nato chief Mark Rutte said the aim was to have “clarity” on what the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” could deliver so they could discuss what the Americans could provide.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said following the meeting that the first priority was to secure a ceasefire at a summit involving Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, and then provide “strong security guarantees”.
Ukraine and its allies believe a ceasefire should be agreed before any attempt at security a broader peace deal.
A source at the Élysée Palace said there were three aims behind the security guarantees:
- to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces
- to support them by deploying a separate force to make it clear to Russia that Ukraine had Western backing
- and to have a US safety net, which the Americans would obviously have to maintain.
Zelensky’s top officials held talks in Paris with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday.
More than three-and-a-half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin said this week there was “a certain light at the end of the tunnel” and that “there are options for ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event the conflict ends”.
However, Russia has made clear that no Western forces should be deployed to Ukraine and it has insisted that it should be one of the countries acting as “guarantors” – an idea rejected by Kyiv and its allies.
Putin has also raised the unrealistic prospect of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky coming to Moscow for talks.
Rutte said on Thursday that Russia had no veto on Western troops being deployed to Ukraine: “Why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It’s a sovereign country. It’s not for them to decide.”
Trump told CBS News on Wednesday that he remained committed to reaching a deal to end the war and said he continued to have a good relationship with both Putin and Zelensky.
“I think we’re going to get it all straightened out,” he said.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey has praised Trump, who he says “brought Putin into talks” and “not closed off any options”.
Ukraine is looking to the Coalition of the Willing to come up with a reassurance force involving British, French and other European troops. Germany has said it is too soon to make that kind of commitment.
The Russian leader, who spent Wednesday with China’s Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, claims that his country’s military is pushing forward on all fronts in Ukraine.
He warned that without a deal Moscow was prepared to “resolve all our tasks militarily”.
While Ukraine and its allies say a ceasefire should be agreed initially, Russia has insisted its campaign will not end before a full peace deal.
The source at the Élysée Palace said it had already become clear that Russia had no intention of having a ceasefire as part of a peace deal.
The source pointed to the demarcation line between North and South Korea, where a ceasefire had lasted for years with a powerfully armed, allied American deployment serving as a signal to North Korea. That concept was extremely important for the Ukrainians, the source added.
