UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday joined European allies to discuss Ukraine ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House. The talks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent meeting with Trump.
Starmer praised Trump for his efforts to end the war, saying they had “brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.” He also stressed Europe’s “unwavering support” for Kyiv.
“His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended,” Starmer said. “While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him.”
Starmer also welcomed discussions on providing Ukraine with strong security guarantees as part of any peace deal. He called this “important progress” that would help deter Putin from launching further aggression.
He also said, “Until he (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions, which have already had a punishing impact on the Russian economy and its people.”
What happened during Trump-Putin meet?
Putin concluded his joint press conference with Trump by inviting him for further talks in Moscow. “Next time in Moscow,” Putin said.
Trump accepted the suggestion, saying, “That’s an interesting one. I’ll get a little heat on that one, but I can see it possibly happening.”
Trump said that the next step now rests with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, adding that a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin would be arranged soon.
“Now it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done,” Trump told the local media. “They’re going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess,” Trump told the media, as reported by CNN.
He declined to disclose the remaining issues holding up a deal, saying only that he wants “to see what we can get done.”
Despite the lack of a formal agreement, Trump described the summit as a success, rating it “10 out of 10, in the sense that we got along great.”
“I want to make sure it gets done,” he added, as per CNN. “And we have a pretty good chance of getting it done.”
Trump said he and Putin agreed that the Ukraine conflict would end with land swaps and US-backed some type of security guarantee.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
