- UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to host a virtual ‘coalition of the willing’ summit as world leaders try to secure peace in Ukraine
- Downing Street says around 25 leaders including European partners, the EU commission, Nato, Ukraine, Canada and others will attend
- Starmer says Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot be allowed to play games” with the US-proposed ceasefire deal, and accuses the Russian leader of “trying to delay” an agreement
- The aim of the summit is for Europe to persuade the US to “guarantee Ukraine’s security in the future”, write’s the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent
- Earlier this week, Putin set out conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called his response “manipulative”
- Also this week, US President Donald Trump said he held “good and productive” discussions with Putin during talks in Moscow
Putin will have to come to the table ‘sooner or later’ – Starmer
The UK’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tells world leaders that Vladimir Putin will “sooner or later” have to “come to the table”.
At a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, Starmer pushes for further backing for Ukraine and calls for further pressure on Russia.
We’ll bring you more lines here as we get them.
Virtual summit under way
We’ve just seen footage of French President Emmanuel Macron tuning in to the virtual summit with global leaders.
As a reminder, around 25 leaders are expected to join the call hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, including those from Europe, Canada, Ukraine, Australia and New Zealand as well as officials from the EU commission and Nato.
The prime minister will hold a news conference after the meeting – so stick with us for more.
Who’s saying what about the Ukraine ceasefire?
As conversations continue over a possible peace deal for Ukraine, we’ve taken stock of what some of the key players have been saying in recent days:
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Now is the time to put “maximum pressure” on Russia, Starmer says, in order to shift Vladimir Putin’s “yes, but” position on a ceasefire, adding this should be the moment the “guns fall silent
- Speaking after this morning’s virtual meeting of Ukrainian allies, Starmer says the so-called “coalition of the willing” are moving to an “operational phase” of logistical planning
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky
- Zelensky says “peace must begin unconditionally” and reiterated that “strong pressure” must be applied on Russia as it’s “dragging” the war out
- He also accuses Putin of “lying” about a ceasefire being “too complicated” and pushes back on Kremlin claims that Russian soldiers have surrounded Ukrainian troops in Kursk, the region where Ukraine’s forces launched a surprise incursion last August
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin
- Putin says Russia “in favour” of a ceasefire but “there are nuances” and “questions” about the nature of the truce
- A ceasefire should lead to “an enduring peace and remove the root causes of this crisis”, he says, adding “we need to negotiate with our American colleagues and partners…maybe I’ll have a call with Donald Trump”
US President Donald Trump
- Trump says talks between Russia and America earlier this week in Moscow had been “good and productive”
- Trump, in a post on social media, describes the talks as providing “a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end”
Seizing Russian assets ‘complicated’, but conversation continues
The notion of seizing frozen Russian assets was one of the topics discussed by leaders in the meeting earlier today.
Calling it “complicated”, the prime minister did say the conversation on this would continue. It comes after other political figures, including his own foreign secretary, David Lammy, have positioned themselves in favour.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, around $325bn worth of assets were frozen by the G7, alongside the EU – that’s a financial sanction imposed by the government which restricts named individuals and entities from accessing assets held in the country.
As a reminder, the UK is currently using the proceeds from these assets to support Ukraine. Other European countries are doing the same.
However, actually seizing them could come up against legal issues in international law.
The European Central Bank’s president, Christine Lagarde, has previously warned that such a move risked “breaking the international order… you would want Russia to respect”.
Earlier this month, Lagarde said it was not a debate for the European Central Bank.
However, she added: “The international law basis on which any decision is made will matter as far as other investors are concerned.”
Starmer today said sanctions will continue in a bid to “bring [Putin] to the table” but a decision on seizing assets remains to be made.
Too early to discuss European troops in Ukraine, says Finnish president
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has told the BBC that it is “still too early” to talk about putting troops on the ground as part of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine after the prime minister’s summit this morning.
Earlier, Keir Starmer said military planning would move into an “operational phase” with a meeting this Thursday.
Stubb said that Finland was willing to be part of efforts to defend a peace deal, but “it is too early to talk about boots on the ground because we don’t have a ceasefire, we don’t have a peace process”.
“Once we have a clear plan, we start doing the commitments,” he says.
There is “anywhere from zero to 50 different ways they can help out, boots on the ground is only one way,” Stubb says, and adds it is “too early to commit”.
Starmer has repeatedly called on other European countries to commit to concrete measures that could help provide security for Ukraine in the event that a ceasefire deal is reached.
Unless Trump’s stance changes, Starmer’s coalition could struggle to get off the ground
Keir Starmer says the “coalition of the willing” is now bigger and that “new commitments” are on the table, though he didn’t spell these out.
This morning’s participants, he said, had agreed to keep military aid flowing to Ukraine and tighten restrictions on the Russian economy, to weaken Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Planning, he said, would now move to an “operational phase”, with military chiefs due to meet in the UK next Thursday.
“Overall, we are successfully gathering political and military momentum,” he said.
It’s likely that we’ll see a rolling set of political, diplomatic and military gatherings as the plan slowly takes shape.
It’s far from plain sailing.
Asked about vital US military support for any European-led operation – what’s being called a “backstop” – the prime minister was clear: the US position had not changed.
European national security advisors, including Jonathan Powell – one of those credited with convincing President Zelensky to accept the US ceasefire proposal – were in Washington yesterday.
Unless Donald Trump’s position on the backstop changes, Keir’s coalition of the willing could struggle to get off the ground.
In Ukraine’s plight for peace, the military clock is ticking
For President Zelensky, the military clock is ticking, especially in Kursk, where his troops have been occupying a shrinking sliver of Russian territory since last August.
Ukraine vehemently denies reports that its forces are surrounded in Kursk – a theory promoted by Donald Trump yesterday – but they are clearly under enormous pressure and they’re losing ground.
When I was in Kyiv towards the end of last year, Ukrainian troops told us they were holding onto territory in Kursk as a bargaining chip to be played in future negotiations.
But as those negotiations approach, it’s a chip that Vladimir Putin seems determined to remove from the table first.
That may go some way towards explaining his “yes, but” approach to the idea of a 30-day ceasefire.