Starmer returns to Scotland after family holiday interrupted by Ukraine talks
It had taken off from the same airport the previous day when Sir Keir was heading to the US for the brief trip.
On his return to Scotland, Sir Keir will co-chair a call of the so-called 'coalition of the willing', a group of nations looking to help Ukraine that he has been leading with French President Emmanuel Macron.
It is the second summer in a row that the Prime Minister's holiday plans have been disrupted after he cancelled a European trip last August when rioting broke out in the UK and tensions escalated in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister also delayed his departure for a trip last Christmas following the death of his brother aged 60 who had been suffering from cancer.
A minister has said it is an 'occupational hazard' that prime ministers can see their holidays disrupted.
Pensions minister Torsten Bell told Sky News that Sir Keir has been making a 'real difference' in the negotiations over Ukraine.
He told the broadcaster: 'It is an occupational hazard for prime ministers that holidays are interrupted. You'll have been covering that for years.
'I've been around British politics enough to have seen that happen, unfortunately, year after year.
'I want the Prime Minister to have a rest […] all we want to do is make sure that we're addressing these big issues, and that in this summer means making sure we get those security guarantees in Ukraine.'
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South Wales Guardian
27 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
What is the coalition of the willing?
Here, the PA news agency looks at who is in the coalition and what they can achieve: – What is the coalition of the willing? At least 31 countries have signed up to help defend a peace deal in Ukraine, once one is struck, in an effort to ward off a future attack by Russia. The UK is among those 'willing', with the Government prepared to put 'boots on the ground and planes in the air', Sir Keir said when he unveiled plans for the coalition at London's Lancaster House in March. But it is not the first of its kind. Former US president Bill Clinton suggested in 1994 that sanctions could be imposed by a 'so-called coalition of the willing', to quell North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and his successor George W Bush announced a similar alliance in the early-2000s to disarm the then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. – Who has signed up? Leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Finland and Italy have all indicated their willingness to defend a peace deal in Ukraine. They joined Donald Trump, who has not signed up to the coalition, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House this month. A total 31 countries are in the coalition, according to the Government's National Security Strategy 2025. Beyond Europe, it has attracted support from the Canadian and Australian prime ministers Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese. – Will British troops go to Ukraine? After Sir Keir's commitment to put 'boots on the ground and planes in the air together with others' to militarily defend a peace deal, No 10 unveiled its support for a Multinational Force Ukraine, in an effort to help regenerate Ukraine's own armed forces. Military chiefs have previously met in Paris to agree a strategy for the force, and to coordinate plans with the EU, Nato, the US and more than 200 planners from 30 international partners. And in Washington, European leaders discussed early-stage proposals for a security guarantee, similar to Nato's article five principle – that an attack one member is an attack on the entire bloc. – What has the coalition achieved? 'The coalition of the willing has been successful in advocating for Ukraine and communicating with Trump and the US administration during its outreach to Russia,' says Edward Arnold from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank. 'Moreover, it has undertaken lengthy military planning and has established a leadership and command structure. However, much remains uncertain, especially the nature of any agreed ceasefire or whether a broader peace process is on the cards.' But the US's commitment is 'far from certain', he told the PA news agency, and warned that 'European planners cannot progress the planning until the US position is agreed'. – What is Nato's role? Nato's Mark Rutte has attended meetings of the coalition of the willing, and Mr Trump appeared pleased with his efforts at their meeting when he described the secretary general as 'a great, great political leader'. But Mr Arnold warned that an article five-style mutual defence deal could amount to 'de facto' membership of the bloc for Ukraine, something which Russian president Vladimir Putin 'is unlikely to agree to'. He said: ''Nato article five-style' guarantees are being talked about but Nato is a unique alliance which is not able to be replicated for Ukraine. 'Moreover, if any coalition of the willing member signed a mutual defence clause with Ukraine, and then Ukraine was attacked further, that could conceivably draw that Nato member into direct conflict with Russia, thereby potentially triggering article five.' Sir Keir has welcomed 'some sort of article five-style guarantees', which he said 'fits' with some of the coalition's work, and Mr Trump who met Mr Putin in an Alaska summit claimed Moscow will 'accept' multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine's security.
North Wales Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Trump says it will be ‘rough situation' if Putin does not agree peace plan
He said it would be a 'rough situation' if Mr Putin failed to agree peace terms but stressed that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had to show flexibility, including giving up hopes of getting Crimea back or joining Nato. The US president's comments came as Sir Keir Starmer held talks with members of the 'coalition of the willing', the nations prepared to contribute to guaranteeing Ukraine's security if a deal to end the Russian invasion can be reached. In a call on Tuesday, members of the group discussed the possibility of further sanctions on Russia, while planners from the nations will meet their US counterparts 'in the coming days', amid efforts to set up 'robust security guarantees', Number 10 said. The Prime Minister and Mr Zelensky were among European leaders who travelled to Washington on Monday for talks at the White House. Those discussions have paved the way for a potential meeting between Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin for the first time since the Russian leader invaded his neighbour in 2022. Mr Trump told Fox News: 'I hope President Putin is going to be good and if he's not, that's going to be a rough situation. 'And I hope that Zelensky, President Zelensky, will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility.' The UK and France have pledged to commit forces to Ukraine to deter Mr Putin from launching a fresh assault on his neighbour if a deal is done to end the war. Mr Trump said they were 'willing to put people on the ground', and added: 'We're willing to help them with things, especially probably if you could talk about by air, because there's nobody has the kind of stuff we have.' But he suggested that Mr Putin was unlikely to launch another invasion as he was 'tired of it' after three years of war. 'We are going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks, that I can tell you,' Mr Trump said, acknowledging that it was 'possible he doesn't want to make a deal'. Sir Keir said work with the US on what the security guarantees would entail could start as soon as Tuesday. He said there was a 'real significant breakthrough when it comes to security guarantees, because we're now going to be working with the US on those security guarantees'. Sir Keir told the BBC that teams from both sides of the Atlantic were starting 'the detailed work on that'. The Prime Minister co-chaired a call on Tuesday morning of the so-called 'coalition of the willing', the group of nations he has been leading with France's President Emmanuel Macron. Mr Trump spoke directly to Mr Putin to begin planning a meeting between the Russian leader and Mr Zelensky while hosting the gathering on Monday, which will then be followed by a three-way meeting involving himself. The US president said Moscow will 'accept' multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine's security. Mr Zelensky, meanwhile, said he was 'ready' for bilateral and trilateral meetings. But he told reporters following the White House meeting that if Russia does 'not demonstrate a will to meet, then we will ask the United States to act accordingly'. Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said the US and Europe would 'do more' on tariffs and sanctions against Russia if the country 'is not playing ball' on direct talks with Ukraine, in comments to Fox News. Sir Keir described the talks as 'good and constructive' and said there was a 'real sense of unity' between the European leaders, Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky. He said Mr Trump's plans to arrange the bilateral and trilateral meetings showed a recognition that Ukraine must be involved in talks. 'That is a recognition of the principle that on some of these issues, whether it's territory or the exchange of prisoners, or the very serious issue of the return of children, that is something where Ukraine must be at the table,' the Prime Minister said.
North Wales Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
What is the coalition of the willing?
Here, the PA news agency looks at who is in the coalition and what they can achieve: – What is the coalition of the willing? At least 31 countries have signed up to help defend a peace deal in Ukraine, once one is struck, in an effort to ward off a future attack by Russia. The UK is among those 'willing', with the Government prepared to put 'boots on the ground and planes in the air', Sir Keir said when he unveiled plans for the coalition at London's Lancaster House in March. But it is not the first of its kind. Former US president Bill Clinton suggested in 1994 that sanctions could be imposed by a 'so-called coalition of the willing', to quell North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and his successor George W Bush announced a similar alliance in the early-2000s to disarm the then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. – Who has signed up? Leaders from the UK, France, Germany, Finland and Italy have all indicated their willingness to defend a peace deal in Ukraine. They joined Donald Trump, who has not signed up to the coalition, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House this month. A total 31 countries are in the coalition, according to the Government's National Security Strategy 2025. Beyond Europe, it has attracted support from the Canadian and Australian prime ministers Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese. – Will British troops go to Ukraine? After Sir Keir's commitment to put 'boots on the ground and planes in the air together with others' to militarily defend a peace deal, No 10 unveiled its support for a Multinational Force Ukraine, in an effort to help regenerate Ukraine's own armed forces. Military chiefs have previously met in Paris to agree a strategy for the force, and to coordinate plans with the EU, Nato, the US and more than 200 planners from 30 international partners. And in Washington, European leaders discussed early-stage proposals for a security guarantee, similar to Nato's article five principle – that an attack one member is an attack on the entire bloc. – What has the coalition achieved? 'The coalition of the willing has been successful in advocating for Ukraine and communicating with Trump and the US administration during its outreach to Russia,' says Edward Arnold from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think tank. 'Moreover, it has undertaken lengthy military planning and has established a leadership and command structure. However, much remains uncertain, especially the nature of any agreed ceasefire or whether a broader peace process is on the cards.' But the US's commitment is 'far from certain', he told the PA news agency, and warned that 'European planners cannot progress the planning until the US position is agreed'. – What is Nato's role? Nato's Mark Rutte has attended meetings of the coalition of the willing, and Mr Trump appeared pleased with his efforts at their meeting when he described the secretary general as 'a great, great political leader'. But Mr Arnold warned that an article five-style mutual defence deal could amount to 'de facto' membership of the bloc for Ukraine, something which Russian president Vladimir Putin 'is unlikely to agree to'. He said: ''Nato article five-style' guarantees are being talked about but Nato is a unique alliance which is not able to be replicated for Ukraine. 'Moreover, if any coalition of the willing member signed a mutual defence clause with Ukraine, and then Ukraine was attacked further, that could conceivably draw that Nato member into direct conflict with Russia, thereby potentially triggering article five.' Sir Keir has welcomed 'some sort of article five-style guarantees', which he said 'fits' with some of the coalition's work, and Mr Trump who met Mr Putin in an Alaska summit claimed Moscow will 'accept' multinational efforts to guarantee Ukraine's security.
