Starmer could attend second US-Russia meeting on ending Ukraine war, says Trump

The Herald Scotland

21 hours ago

The Prime Minister has been a key player in the group which has also included French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk with Sir Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Mr Trump said: 'We have a meeting with President (Vladimir) Putin tomorrow, I think it's going to be a good meeting.
'But the more important meeting will be the second meeting that we're having. We're going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we'll bring some of the European leaders along. Maybe not.'
He added: 'I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelensky will make peace. We'll see if they can get along. And if they can it will be great.'
Mr Trump said the summit aims to bring peace to Ukraine, and 'save a lot of lives'.
Earlier this week the US leader told his European counterparts that his goal for the summit was to secure a ceasefire.
Sir Keir chaired a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing' on Wednesday – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine to monitor any deal – and said there was a 'viable' chance of a truce.
It came after Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky met on Thursday at Downing Street, where they said there was 'strong resolve' for peace in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky after their meeting at Downing Street (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
The two leaders embraced as the red carpet was rolled out for Mr Zelensky's arrival in Downing Street, and they later had breakfast.
They expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of a truce 'as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious' about ending the war, a Downing Street statement said.
In a separate statement, Mr Zelensky said there had been discussions about the security guarantees required to make any deal 'truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killing'.
But concerns linger over the prospect of Kyiv being excluded from negotiations over its own future, and pressured to cede territory, after Mr Trump suggested any agreement may need to involve 'swapping of land'.
Ukraine has already rejected any proposal that would compromise its borders.
In a readout of the morning meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky, a Downing Street spokesman said: 'They had a private breakfast where they discussed yesterday's meetings.
'They agreed there had been a powerful sense of unity and a strong resolve to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.'
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)
During the meeting on Thursday, Mr Zelensky urged the UK to join PURL – Nato's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative – to provide weapons to Kyiv.
'It is important that, within the framework of the coalition of the willing, we should all be able to achieve effective formats for security co-operation,' he later said.
'We also discussed the continuation of support programmes for our army and our defence industry. Under any scenario, Ukraine will maintain its strength.'
The Times reported that Britain was planning to scale back its plans for a military peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
UK military chiefs are said to be considering air reassurance over western Ukraine, training support to the Ukrainian military and the clearance of mines from the Black Sea.
The Government has been contacted for comment.
Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, the Prime Minister said.
'We're ready to support this, including from the plans we've already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,' Sir Keir told allies on Wednesday.
'It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.'