a day ago
Putin cannot be trusted, No 10 warns before his summit with Trump
Downing Street has warned President Trump not to trust President Putin to stick to a Ukraine ceasefire deal, as western leaders scramble to help Kyiv prepare for a peace summit on Friday.
Putin cannot be trusted 'as far as you could throw him', No 10 said on Monday, as Britain pushed for guarantees to ensure that any pause in the fighting agreed at the meeting between the two presidents is not used by Russia simply as a breathing space to prepare for a new offensive.
European leaders urged Trump over the weekend to allow Ukraine to take part in the talks, nervous at what he might cede to Putin at the summit.
The structure of the talks was described by UK government sources as 'fluid' after Trump signalled that he might be willing to include President Zelensky in the meeting taking place in Alaska. The Ukrainian leader has said that anything agreed without him will be 'dead'.
