European leaders discuss Ukraine peace efforts with Donald Trump
Ukraine’s foreign minister said ‘Ukraine and all allies are ready for a full unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days’.
Sir Keir Starmer and other European leaders including Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken with Donald Trump about efforts for peace in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister is in the Ukrainian capital alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for further talks for the so-called “coalition of the willing” with Mr Zelensky.
The leaders are understood to have updated the US president on the progress made on coalition plans.
The call was unplanned and lasted around 20 minutes and was described as “warm” by a UK source.
Sir Keir posted a video on X on Saturday afternoon to mark his visit to Kyiv, and said that he “will not rest until we secure a just and lasting peace for the Ukrainian people”.
Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister Andrii Sybiha posted on X on Saturday morning that “all five leaders… had a fruitful call with (Donald Trump) focused on peace efforts”.
It comes after the US president called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting was not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.
Mr Sybiha said in his social media post that “Ukraine and all allies are ready for a full unconditional ceasefire on land, air, and at sea for at least 30 days starting already on Monday”.
Sir Keir and his French, Polish, Ukrainian and German counterparts are understood to have all agreed that there should be an unconditional 30-day ceasefire with sanctions if it broken.
Before their trip on Saturday, Sir Keir and the other leaders called on Russia to “stop obstructing efforts” to secure a peace deal.
It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled together to Ukraine, and marks Mr Merz’s first visit since he was elected chancellor on Tuesday.
After arriving in the Ukrainian capital, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz joined Mr Zelensky and first lady Olena Zelenska to place candles at a makeshift memorial to killed Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv’s Independence Square during a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.
In a joint statement before their visit, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz said they “will stand in Kyiv in solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion”.
They added: “We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace.
“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
On Friday, the UK’s ambassador to the US Lord Peter Mandelson said that the UK had “influenced” Mr Trump’s views on Ukraine.
He told BBC Newsnight: “We have influenced his outlook on Ukraine in our attitude to Putin.
“You’ve seen how his stance and his language has changed just in recent weeks and indeed recent days.”
Mr Trump said on Thursday that talks with Russia and Ukraine have continued.
“The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He added: “Hopefully, an acceptable ceasefire will be observed, and both Countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations. If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.
The leaders who have travelled to Kyiv on Saturday have said they are “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the ceasefire, and prepare for a full peace deal”.
“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” they added.
The meetings in Kyiv will come two weeks after Mr Zelensky had discussions with a number of world leaders – including Mr Trump and Sir Keir – on the fringes of Pope Francis’s funeral.
