Sir Keir Starmer to meet with 'coalition of the willing' ahead of crunch Trump-Zelensky White House showdown as world leaders push for peace deal in Ukraine

Daily Mail​

15 hours ago

Sir Keir Starmer is set to meet with Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz ahead of Zelensky and Trump's talks at the White House next week, as world leader push for a peace deal in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister will hold talks with the European leaders in a meeting of the coalition of the willing on Sunday afternoon.
A day later, on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to meet with Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington DC.
The one-on-one in the Oval Office could pave the way for a three-way meeting alongside Russian leader Mr Putin, the US president has said.
It comes as Ukraine's future as a sovereign nation hangs in the balance after the US President's meeting with Vladimir Putin yesterday, which left Kremlin delegates grinning.
Critics have warned that other world leaders were powerless to prevent Zelensky from being caught 'with his head in a vice' by the American and Russian leaders when he visits Trump at the White House.
Diplomatic sources said that Friday's summit in Alaska had paved the way for a deal in which Ukraine would be expected to surrender large swathes of the Donbas region in the east of the country, including areas currently controlled by Kyiv.
Several news outlets have cited sources, which claimed Putin demanded full control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two occupied Ukrainian regions, and, in exchange he would give up other Ukrainian territories held by Russian troops.
In return, president Zelensky would receive 'Nato-style' protection from Western countries for what remained of his territory.
Elsewhere, the coalition of the willing, which is made up of over 30 nations, is prepared to deter Russian aggression by placing troops on the ground once the Ukraine war is over.
The meeting, which is expected to take place at approximately 2pm UK time, comes on the heels of Mr Trump's summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
And although Trump hoped to score a peace deal following talks at the military base in Anchorage, both he and Putin walked away without an agreement on how to bring the conflict to an end.
In a press conference, Trump declared 'there's no deal until there's a deal', adding there were 'many, many points that we agreed on', however, they failed to yield an immediate result on one issue, he branded 'the most significant'.
'We didn't get there, but we have a very good chance of getting there,' he added, without divulging any specifics.
There was no mention of a ceasefire from either Trump or Putin during the press conference which followed after their near three-hour meeting.
Following the summit, the US president told Fox News it was now up to the Ukrainian to 'make a deal' to end the war.
And while Sir Keir commended Trump's 'pursuit of an end to the killing' following a phone call with the US president, Zelensky and Nato allies on Saturday morning, he insisted the Ukrainian leader must not be excluded from future peace talks.
The Prime Minister and European leaders appeared increasingly confident that Mr Trump will offer a 'security guarantee' of air support to back up allied troops on the ground in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister welcomed 'the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal'.
'This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more,' he added.
But Mr Trump also appeared to have a change of heart on what he wants to achieve from the talks, indicating that he wants a permanent peace settlement rather than a ceasefire.
Yesterday, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'The best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.
'President Zelensky will be coming to [Washington] DC, the Oval Office, on Monday afternoon. If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with president Putin.'
Writing on his Truth Social platform, the US president said: 'The best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up.'
Following the summit, Dr Neil Melvin, director of international security at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: 'Vladimir Putin came to the Alaska summit with the principal goal of stalling any pressure on Russia to end the war.
'He will consider the summit outcome as mission accomplished.'
But, experts have warned the face-to-face summit has risked legitimising the Russian leader, after he has been made a pariah by the international community for years.
Zelensky has also warned the Kremlin may ramp up airstrikes against Ukraine over the coming days in a bid 'to create more favourable political circumstances for talks with global actors'.
Kyiv's troops are 'defending our positions along the entire front line', he added on social media site X.
Mr Zelensky had earlier insisted a ceasefire must include an end to fighting on land, in the sea and the air, as well as the return of all prisoners of war and captured civilians, including children.
Sanctions on Moscow 'should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war', Mr Zelensky added.
However, last night, former British defence minister Tobias Ellwood told The Mail on Sunday that he feared Mr Zelensky was walking into a trap in the White House.
He said: 'He will be asked to put his head in a vice, with Vladimir Putin pushing from one side and Donald Trump from the other.
'The Ukrainian president will be presented with a 'take it or leave it' deal: surrender territory to Russia or face the blame for wrecking peace.
'And if Mr Zelensky refuses, Trump will walk away, declaring that America is done with the talks.
'It's the classic gangster deal – one you can't refuse. Except he must.'
Mr Johnson, writing in today's MoS, describes the summit as 'the most vomit-inducing episode in all the tawdry history of international diplomacy'.
He says: 'Imagine how it felt to be one of those embattled heroes in a dug-out near Pokrovsk, fighting for your country's freedom, and to hear the President of the United States – the ex officio team captain of the Free World – refer to Vladimir Putin as 'the boss'. Retch.
'Think of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian widows and orphans.
'Think of the maimed and mutilated; think of the Ukrainian civilians living in daily and nightly terror of Putin's bombs and missiles still raining down, even though the so-called negotiations were taking place in Alaska.'
But he adds: 'Like so many of the most objectionable pieces of historic diplomacy, that meeting was also, of course, justifiable and even essential.
'Puke-making though it was, Trump was right to try. He was right to meet Putin, because if millions of Ukrainians were watching with horror at the red-carpet rehabilitation of the Russian tyrant, they were also watching with hope... One day this war will end with a peace that protects Ukrainian freedom; but as Trump said in Alaska, the Europeans – led by Britain – will have to step up.'
The proposed deal was greeted with dismay in Ukraine. Volodymyr Dubovyk, a professor of international relations in Odesa, described it as 'a nothing-burger with a sour aftertaste'.
He said: 'As a Ukrainian, it was pretty disgusting to see what was going on, all this red carpet, all this clapping and smiles and being chummy.'
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a long-time ally of Trump, said of the US President: 'At least he is trying to find peace.'
But former Tory defence secretary Ben Wallace hit out at the 1980's-style 'pantomime' of the summit between the two leaders.
He said: 'Putin got what he wanted and I think President Trump got a trip to Alaska.'