Volodymyr Zelensky meets Keir Starmer in Britain ahead of U.S.-Russia summit

UPI

13 hours ago

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) gives a very warm welcome to President Volodymyr Zelensky outside 10 Downing Street in London on Thursday morning as the Ukrainian leader arrived for talks ahead of a landmark U.S.-Russia summit that could decide his country's fate. Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Downing Street on Thursday to maintain the momentum of a European push to influence a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The high-profile meeting between the British and Ukrainian leaders, reported by the BBC, Sky News and The Telegraph, was described as a carefully choreographed display of support timed for just hours before the historic U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, which Zelensky was left out of.
Neither man commented nor provided any details of their discussion when the pair emerged from No. 10 after around 60 minutes.
The London talks came as the Kremlin confirmed "resolving the Ukraine crisis" would be the main focus of the summit and that the delegation headed by Putin would include top aide Yuri Ushakov, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russian sovereign wealth fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev.
Co-chairing a meeting of European leaders, Zelensky and Trump on Wednesday, Starmer said a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine was a "viable" outcome from what he called Friday's "hugely important" meeting, but stressed Ukraine's "territorial integrity" must be defended and international borders "must not be changed by force".
"As I've said personally to President Trump for the three-and-a-bit years this conflict has been going on, we haven't got anywhere near a prospect of actually a viable solution, a viable way of bringing it to a ceasefire," said Starmer.
"And now we do have that chance, because of the work the president has put in."
However, Starmer said any cease-fire would have to be lasting and therefore needed "robust and credible security guarantees" and that European allies had established "this Coalition of the Willing" to back a post-war Ukraine militarily, with troops if necessary, to preempt Russia from breaking any peace agreement.
The bloc backed Zelensky's demand that no decisions be made without Ukraine at the table.
Trump emerged from the meeting to put Putin on notice he would face "severe consequences" if he did not agree to a cease-fire when the pair meet in Anchorage on Friday. Trump said that, provided the meeting went well, he would also seek a second meeting between Putin and Zelensky to hammer out the details of a peace deal.