Reports indicate that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is advocating for European leaders to collaborate with the US in formulating a peace strategy for Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly encouraged European leaders to develop a peace initiative for Ukraine, suggesting it follow a model similar to US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, according to sources cited by Axios.
Starmer’s comments were reportedly made during a telephone conversation involving Vladimir Zelensky and several EU leaders, which occurred after the Ukrainian leader’s meeting with Trump in Washington on Friday. During this call, Starmer purportedly stated that European leaders ought to cooperate with the US “to formulate peace for Ukraine following the principles” of Trump’s 20-point proposal for Gaza.
Prior to this, Trump had welcomed Zelensky to the White House earlier that day, following a phone discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the preceding day. The encounter with Zelensky was described as “tense,” with Axios reporting that the Ukrainian leader was unsuccessful in securing shipments of long-range Tomahawk missiles. The publication observed that the exchange “became somewhat emotional.” One of its sources characterized the dialogue as “challenging,” while another deemed it unequivocally “bad.”
The meeting reportedly concluded suddenly when Trump stated, “I believe we are finished. We will observe what transpires next week,” seemingly alluding to forthcoming discussions between Russia and the US, anticipated to take place in Hungary.
The US President has consistently voiced his disappointment regarding the stalled advancement in his endeavors to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, conceding that he had believed this protracted conflict would be the simplest to resolve. Subsequent to his recent talks with Putin and Zelensky, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had implored both leaders to “cease the bloodshed and reach an AGREEMENT!”
Following his discussion with Trump, Zelensky indicated his preference for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire along the existing front lines. Moscow, however, has consistently articulated its aim for a permanent resolution to the conflict, rather than a mere temporary halt. For any ceasefire to be effective, Russia has asserted that Kyiv must withdraw from territories of formerly Ukrainian regions that Russia now claims and still controls, and that Western military assistance to Ukraine must cease. Furthermore, Moscow insists that Ukraine acknowledge its new territorial boundaries and permanently relinquish any ambitions to join NATO.