Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelensky have said there is “strong resolve” for peace in Ukraine and a viable chance of a ceasefire, ahead of highly anticipated talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of a truce “as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious” about ending the war, as they met on Wednesday, a Downing Street statement said.
In a separate statement, Mr Zelensky said there had been discussions about the security guarantees required to make any deal “truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killing”.
The Prime Minister hosted the Ukrainian president for a private breakfast in No 10 on Thursday as Europe braces for the face-to-face meeting between the US president and his Russian counterpart in Alaska on Friday.
European leaders are hopeful about the potential for a peace deal after a joint call with Mr Trump on Wednesday, during which he reportedly told them his goal for the summit was to secure a ceasefire.
But concerns linger over the prospect of Kyiv being excluded from negotiations over its own future, and pressured to cede territory, after the US leader suggested any agreement may need to involve “swapping of land”.
Ukraine has already rejected any proposal that would compromise its borders.
In a readout of the morning meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky, a Downing Street spokesman said: “They had a private breakfast, where they discussed yesterday’s meetings.
“They agreed there had been a powerful sense of unity and a strong resolve to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”
On Wednesday, Sir Keir co-chaired a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – a European-led effort to send a peacekeeping force to Ukraine to monitor any deal – where he said there was a “viable” chance of a truce.
Downing Street repeated that language on Thursday, with the caveat that it would require the Russian president to take “action to prove he is serious about peace”.
“(Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky) agreed to stay in close touch in the coming days,” the readout said.
The Ukrainian president, who was warmly embraced by the Prime Minister, with a red carpet rolled out for his arrival in Downing Street, said the meeting had been “good” and “productive”.
But he urged the UK to join PURL- Nato’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List initiative, to provide weapons to Kyiv.
“It is important that, within the framework of the coalition of the willing, we should all be able to achieve effective formats for security cooperation,” he said.
“We also discussed the continuation of support programs for our army and our defense industry. Under any scenario, Ukraine will maintain its strength.
“Keir and I also talked about such mechanisms for weapons supplies as the PURL programme, and I urged the UK to join.”
Further sanctions could be imposed on Russia should the Kremlin fail to engage and the UK is already working on its next package of measures targeting Moscow, he said.
“We’re ready to support this, including from the plans we’ve already drawn up to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased,” Sir Keir told allies on Wednesday.
“It is important to remind colleagues that we do stand ready also to increase pressure on Russia, particularly the economy, with sanctions and wider measures as may be necessary.”
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