Sir Keir Starmer and other international leaders have called the US-drafted peace plan for Ukraine “a basis which will require additional work”, as Donald Trump said his proposal was not a final offer but the war must end now.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, he said: “I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened.
“If I were President, it never would have happened. One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”
In a joint statement issued on Saturday following their meeting at the Johannesburg G20 summit, shunned by Trump, the leaders also stressed that “borders must not be changed by force”.
Sir Keir spoke to the US President on the phone and agreed their teams will work together on the peace proposal for Ukraine during talks in Geneva tomorrow, Downing Street has said. It was understood to be a “good and constructive” call.
Washington reportedly pressed Kyiv to accept the agreement it secretly drafted with Russia, which would see the invaded country make major concessions including surrendering territory, cutting the size of its army and giving up its path to Nato membership.
The Prime Minister relayed to Trump what he had discussed with members of the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine and will talk to the US leader again on Sunday.
The call came after Sir Keir spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky and reiterated the UK’s “steadfast support” for Kyiv.
In their response, the PM and 12 other European and international leaders said: “We welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.
“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace.
“We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work. We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable. We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force. We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack.
“We reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to Nato would need the consent of EU and Nato members respectively.
“We take this opportunity to underline the strength of our continued support to Ukraine. We will continue to coordinate closely with Ukraine and the US over the coming days.”
Alongside the UK, the statement was issued by France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Ireland, the EU Commission and EU Council.
The PM held 25-minute talks with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz, before the meeting was expanded to include the other G7 and G20 leaders.
The 28-point plan is said to have been negotiated by the US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Kremlin representative Kirill Dmitriev, with Kyiv and European allies left out of the process.
Officials from the US and Ukraine are expected to hold talks in Geneva on Sunday, with Witkoff and US secretary of state Marco Rubio to attend for the US, according to a person familiar with the plans.
National security advisers from the UK, France and Germany are also expected to be there.
In the coming days, consultations with our partners will take place on the steps needed to end the war. Our representatives know how to defend Ukraine’s national interests and exactly what must be done to prevent Russia from launching a third invasion, another strike against… pic.twitter.com/O7pR87SHTe
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 22, 2025
Zelensky, in a video address to his nation, said Ukrainian representatives at the talks in Switzerland “know how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out” another invasion.
“Real peace is always based on security and justice,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Trump told Fox News Radio on Friday he wanted a response to the peace plan from Ukraine by Thursday, while suggesting an extension could be possible.
He told reporters on Friday that Zelensky is “going to have to approve it”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who like Trump is not attending the gathering of the world’s leading economies, on Friday cautiously welcomed the US proposal, saying it “could form the basis of a final peace settlement”.
But he said the plan had not been discussed with the Russian side “in any substantive way” and that he assumed this was because the US had not been able to get Ukraine’s consent.
Earlier on Friday, Zelensky said Ukraine faced “one of the most difficult moments” in its history, facing a choice between “losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner”.
