Sir Keir Starmer has warned that Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted “as far as you could throw him” and that any peace deal must not be imposed on Ukraine.
As Donald Trump prepares to meet the Russian president in Alaska on Friday, Downing Street said Britain would stand with Kyiv until there was a “just” peace.
It came after Britain and its European allies rallied in support of Ukraine at the weekend as a defiant Volodymyr Zelensky rejected Trump’s suggestion that a deal to end the war may involve giving up large amounts of territory to Moscow.
Zelensky insisted Ukraine “will not give Russia any awards for what it has done” and that “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier”.
Downing Street did not rule out that land could be ceded but said any decision on that was one for Ukraine.
Asked if Sir Keir thought the Russian leader could be trusted in the peace talks, No 10 said: “Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine. We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.
“But it is exactly why we’ve been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.
"So we’re not going to leave it to trust. We’re going to ensure that we’re prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire.”
Sir Keir has held extensive talks with countries that make up the so-called “coalition of willing” in recent months, including France, to scope out the kind of security guarantees that would be put in place if a peace deal was struck.
No 10 also said the UK would stand with Ukraine and said Britain would “not reward aggression or compromise sovereignty”.
On Sunday vice-president JD Vance gave an insight into the US’s thinking as it goes into Friday’s talks, saying that Europe must spend more on Ukraine as he warned that America is “done with the funding of the war”.
The Kremlin has said that Trump and Putin would focus on discussing options for achieving a “long-term peaceful resolution” when they meet.
The Russian president is expected to use the summit to set out his demands, including that Ukraine give up two eastern regions as well as Crimea.
“There’ll be some land swapping going on,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody. To the good, for the good of Ukraine. Good stuff, not bad stuff. Also, some bad stuff for both.”
Ukraine has sought to push back the Russian invaders after the largest and deadliest war in Europe since the Second World War began in February 2022. Russia justifies the war on the grounds of what it calls threats to its security from a Ukrainian pivot towards the West. Kyiv and its Western allies say the invasion is an imperial-style land grab.
Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine holds barely any Russian territory.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz organized a series of talks for Wednesday and invited JD Vance, Zelensky, Nato’s chief and several European leaders to join. Merz said the talks would focus on "further options for action to put pressure on Russia" as well as "preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security."
Separately, three people have been killed after setting off explosive devices while swimming in restricted areas off Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
Oleh Kiper, governor of Odesa, said one man died in Karolino-Bugaz, while a man and a woman were killed in Zatoka.
The Black Sea has long been a popular holiday destination in Ukraine, but many of its beaches have been declared unsafe since Russia’s invasion and the waters are heavily mined with explosive devices laid by both sides.
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