Starmer led the “coalition of the willing,” which included a group of Western nations that have pledged to support Ukraine against Russia. The meeting involved 25 countries including European countries, the EU Commission, NATO, and others including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Starmer stated that the coalition agreed that “the ‘yes but’ from Russia is not good enough” and that Moscow must come to the negotiating table.
“We agreed collective pressure will be put on Russia from all of us who were in the meeting this morning,” Starmer said.
Ukraine has accepted the terms of a 30-day ceasefire deal endorsed by President Donald Trump. However, Russia responded by vaguely saying it agreed with the proposal but that the deal “wasn’t complete.”
Starmer also announced that Ukraine’s allied militaries will meet in the UK on Thursday to develop “strong and robust plans” to maintain peace if a ceasefire is secured, according to CNN.
"We will now move into an operational phase,” Starmer said. “Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security.”
During the meeting, Starmer said Ukraine’s allies had agreed to “keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine, and keep tightening restrictions on Russia’s economy, to weaken Putin’s war machine and bring him to the table.” Starmer characterized Ukraine as the “party of peace,” while accusing Putin of delaying the proposal. He added that President Trump “has offered Putin the way forward to a lasting peace – now we must make this a reality.”
On Friday, Trump stated he had received “pretty good news” regarding a possible ceasefire agreement but did not provide specifics. He said his administration had “very good calls” with both countries and posted on Truth Social that “there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end.”
