Britain and France are preparing a peace plan for Ukraine

^{Photo: Getty Images}
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said ahead of a European summit on the situation in Ukraine that Britain and France would work with Ukraine on a "de-escalation plan" and then discuss it with the United States.

The London summit, attended by the leaders of Europe's largest countries, comes two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's public spat with Donald Trump at the White House.

European leaders are expected to discuss steps to continue supporting Ukraine and end the war, amid a US threat to cut off military aid to Kiev and a sharp thaw in relations between Kiev and Washington.


^{France and Britain have said they are ready to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, but they are asking the US for help - and Russia is firmly opposed to this plan.}
Starmer said in an interview with the BBC that his "main goal" now is to be a "bridge" between Zelensky and Trump.

The prime minister said that shortly after the Oval Office row, he called both the US president and the Ukrainian president. "My reaction was: we need to build bridges, we need to find a way to work together. Because after all, we have been through three years of bloody conflict and now we need to achieve a lasting peace," Starmer said.

Starmer listed three main conditions for peace in Ukraine: a strong position in Kiev, European security guarantees and American support. “There should be no deal that will fail, and that is what worries Zelensky,” he added.

Starmer said that he does not believe that Zelensky “did something wrong in the White House.” But the US president, in his opinion, also wants to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine. He answered “yes” to a direct question about whether he believes that the current US president can be trusted.

He also stressed that Zelensky can be trusted, but Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, and that is why the US must provide security guarantees for any peace deal.

The main obstacle in the negotiations between the US and Ukraine has also been the security guarantees demanded by Zelensky.

Trump has so far refused to outline specific measures to restrain Russia if it violates the ceasefire agreement.

The US president has said that if Ukraine agrees to sign a deal with the US on joint development of natural resources, it will bring American companies to Ukrainian territory - and the Kremlin will not dare to break the agreement. Kiev and other Western countries do not believe such arguments.

"I am in favor of an agreement, a cessation of hostilities and then the need to defend this agreement, because the worst possible scenario is a temporary pause, and then Putin returns," Starmer told the BBC.

Russia against a "coalition of the willing"

One of the main topics of the London summit is expected to be the issue of sending a European peacekeeping force to Ukraine. According to Starmer, if a peace agreement is signed, Great Britain and France will create a "coalition of the willing" to provide security guarantees to Ukraine. Both countries are ready to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, provided that the US provides security guarantees.

After Zelensky's talks with Trump failed, European countries are ready to take the initiative, the British Prime Minister said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday morning.

"The UK, as well as France and possibly one or two other countries, will work with Ukraine on a plan to end hostilities, after which we will discuss this plan with the United States," Starmer said.

^{Starmer first met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni}
At the same time, the Prime Minister said that European security guarantees should be provided by a "coalition of the willing."

Russia continues to strongly oppose the deployment of European troops to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated this on Sunday morning.

According to him, the emergence of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine means for Russia that the “root causes of the crisis” will not disappear.

According to Lavrov, for the Russian side, “the discussion in Europe about peacekeeping forces for Ukraine is a distraction, a continuation of the ‘training’ of Kiev for war against Russia.”

"The West cannot explain what will happen if the territory of Ukraine and the Russian language are taken over by European peacekeeping forces," he said (all quotes from TASS).

Who is at the summit?

The summit is being attended by Volodymyr Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

^{Ursula von der Leyen and Keir Starmer on the eve of the summit. Photo: EPA}
The leaders of Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as the Turkish foreign minister, also attended the meeting.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said before leaving for the London summit that Ukraine can count on his country's support without any additional conditions.

There is a "certain dilemma" that the US position on Ukraine is "not as clear as ours," Tusk said. "But we have to overcome this dilemma," he added, noting that Poland currently has "excellent relations with the US" and will "strengthen" them in the future.

At the same time, Poland is "on the side of Ukraine without any 'buts,'" Tusk said.

He also said that he would propose during the summit to increase the number of European troops on the EU's eastern flank - in Finland, the Baltic states and Poland.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa have also been invited to the summit.

“I am going to London to emphasize Europe’s continued support for Ukraine, which can lead to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Ursula von der Leyen said in a message on her X social network. “The path to peace is strength. Weakness breeds even greater war. We stand with Ukraine, while strengthening European defense.”

Earlier in the day, Starmer received Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Downing Street, before heading to the summit.

Observers say Meloni is in a delicate position. He is close to the Trump administration and has been thanked by the US president on several occasions.

He did not join other EU leaders who have supported Zelensky on social media after the fallout with Trump. But Meloni has consistently supported Ukraine in its fight against Russia since coming to power in 2022. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”