By Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper
LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday that Western allies other than the U.S. were stepping up preparations to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, with defence chiefs set to firm up “robust plans” next week.
Starmer hosted a virtual meeting to marshal more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire deal being pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and to gather commitments to help secure any agreement – something Trump has made clear he expects Europe to take on.
Around two dozen leaders took part, including those from Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Australia, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and NATO’s secretary general – but not the U.S.
Starmer said the “coalition of the willing” had reaffirmed its commitment both to helping Ukraine resist Russia’s three-year-old invasion and to securing any ceasefire that emerges from Trump’s overtures to Russia.
While Russia has welcomed the ceasefire proposal in principle, it has also set conditions that essentially restate its war aims, suggesting that any agreement will not come quickly.
Starmer told reporters: “We agreed we will keep increasing the pressure on Russia, keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine, and keep tightening restrictions on Russia’s economy to weaken Putin’s war machine and bring him to the table.”
Jolted into action by Trump’s refusal to keep underwriting Europe’s and Ukraine’s security, other Western countries have been forced to step up.
“Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security,” Starmer said.
“President Trump has offered Putin the way forward to a lasting peace. Now we must make this a reality.”
Britain and France both say they could send peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his country was also open to requests.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE CEASEFIRE STILL APPEARS FAR OFF
Even if a truce is agreed, though, much remains unclear, including the details of the U.S. position.
Zelenskiy said he had underlined Ukraine’s need for security guarantees, including the stationing of foreign troops.
Yet Russia insists it will not accept Western forces on Ukrainian soil.
And Starmer has said that, to deter Putin from attacking again, there must be a security “backstop” from a reluctant Washington, whose forces, weaponry and logistics are the backbone of the Western NATO alliance.
“We are talking to the U.S. on a daily basis,” he said.
Trump said on Friday there was a “very good chance” the war could come to an end after his envoy met with Putin in Moscow.
Kyiv rejects Putin’s demands, though: that Ukraine drop ambitions to join NATO and limit the size of its army, and that Russia take control of the whole of four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own.
Zelenskiy said the issue of territory was “complicated” and should be discussed later. He also said Kyiv would never recognise occupied territory as Russian.
Trump has said Ukraine is unlikely to get all its land back, but on Friday the U.S. backed a G7 communique that reaffirmed support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity.
The foreign ministers of the seven big Western powers also “underscored the need for robust and credible security arrangements to ensure that Ukraine can deter and defend against any renewed acts of aggression”.
Starmer said Putin’s response was not good enough but that, sooner or later, he would have to negotiate.
“Russia doesn’t give the impression of wanting peace in earnest,” French President Emmanuel Macron said after the meeting, adding that Russia was only intensifying its assault.
“President Putin wants to obtain everything – then negotiate. If we want peace, Russia must respond clearly and pressure must be clear, in coordination with the U.S., in order to reach a ceasefire.”
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, Michael Holden, Dan Peleschuk, Michel Rose and Kirsty Needham; Editing by Susan Fenton and Kevin Liffey)
