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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said there is a “real sense of unity” among Western leaders as they prepare for further talks with the US in the coming days over military protection for Ukraine.
Starmer co-chaired a virtual meeting of over 30 leaders on Tuesday following White House discussions with US President Donald Trump on Monday about ending fighting in Ukraine.
The virtual meeting of Coalition of the Willing countries was co-chaired by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, PoliticsHome understands.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer reflected “on the constructive meeting, saying it was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine”.
They added: “Turning to next steps, the Prime Minister outlined that Coalition of the Willing planning teams would meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.”
The leaders also discussed how “further pressure” on Vladimir Putin, including sanctions, could be imposed “until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion”.
On Monday, Starmer went to Washington alongside Macron, NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Finnish premier Alexander Stubb.
Joined by Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the leaders discussed the US President’s in-person meeting with Russian President Putin in Alaska last week, as part of efforts to bring fighting in Ukraine to an end.
While details were thin, Trump suggested that the US would be willing to help European countries protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression in the event of a peace deal, or what leaders describe as security guarantees.
Speaking on Tuesday, Trump said a US contribution to security guarantees could come in the form of air support, “because nobody has the kind of stuff we have”.
Sir Tony Radakin, the UK’s Chief of the Defence Staff, will travel to Washington today to discuss what US involvement in security guarantees could look like, PoliticsHome understands.
On Monday, the group of leaders also discussed a possible meeting between Zelensky and Putin as part of the next steps towards peace in the region.
Posting on social media platform Truth Social, Trump said he had begun “the arrangements for a meeting” between the pair — in what would be their first in-person meeting in six years.
The US President said this could be followed by a “trilateral” meeting involving himself, Zelensky, and Putin.
Before the group meeting in Washington got underway yesterday, Trump was overheard telling Macron that Putin “wants to make a deal” with him, “as crazy as it sounds”.
It remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached, with reports in recent days suggesting that Putin wants parts of eastern Ukraine as part of any peace deal.
There are also questions over whether any agreement will preclude Ukraine from joining NATO in the future. The Kremlin is opposed to Ukraine joining the Western defence alliance, and at the weekend, Trump said there can be “no going into NATO by Ukraine”.
However, speaking on Monday, Starmer’s official spokesperson said there should be “no limitations” placed on the country’s ability to join the alliance.
