UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Tuesday that President Volodymyr Zelensky is willing to accept “in large part the majority of the text” of a proposed peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at a virtual meeting of Coalition of the Willing leaders, Starmer said that ceasefire talks in Ukraine “are moving in a positive direction,” adding that “progress was made” in crunch talks in Geneva over the weekend.
He urged fellow coalition leaders to prepare the planning and financing of Ukraine’s future military forces to shore up its defense.
“I urge colleagues on the call this afternoon to firm up their national commitments, because we need to ensure we have got the most robust capability, the most robust plans, on the table,” Starmer said.
He added that the “multinational force Ukraine”, the peacekeeping operation that the coalition has floated on several occasions, would play a “vital part” in guaranteeing the country’s security.
A spokesperson for Downing Street confirmed earlier in the day that the UK is still planning to post troops in Ukraine after a ceasefire is agreed.
The Coalition of the Willing was formed in March by the French and British leaders and now includes around 30 countries focusing on ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event that a peace deal is reached, either through boots on the ground or arms and logistical support.
Starmer was co-chairing the meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said earlier on Tuesday that France does not want a peace that would amount to a “capitulation” on the part of Ukraine.
In a radio interview, Macron said that Europeans should not show “signs of weakness” that would embolden Russia’s “strategic confrontation” with Europe.
Speaking at the coalition meeting from Paris, Macron said that efforts to end the conflict were at a “crucial juncture.”
“Negotiations are getting a new impetus, and we should seize this momentum not because there is reason for alarm – Ukraine is solid, Russia is slow, and Europe is steadfast – but because there is finally a chance to make real progress toward a good peace,” he said.
However, he emphasized that any settlement should entail Ukraine receiving “a set of very robust security guarantees” as Moscow’s previous commitments were “shattered by successive Russian aggressions.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also attended the call, although the US has rarely been involved in discussions by the coalition.
Ahead of the meeting, Starmer and Zelensky held a telephone discussion in which they “agreed on the importance of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine” as the prime minister reaffirmed that Ukraine can rely on the UK’s support, according to Downing Street.
“The leaders see prospects that can make the path to peace real – ensuring that peace is both dignified and sustainable. There are solid results, and much work still lies ahead,” the Ukrainian president’s office said of the call.
Starmer also told the Coalition of the Willing on Tuesday that London was “ready to move” with the EU on sending financial aid to Kyiv based on the value of “immobilized” Russian assets.
“This is the best way to show [Russian President Vladimir] Putin he should negotiate rather than trying to out-wait us, and it’s the best way for us to be ready to support Ukraine in war or in peace,” Starmer told fellow leaders.
Ukraine is preparing for a high-level meeting between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in the US in November, Rustem Umerov said earlier on Tuesday.
CBS News reported that Kyiv had expressed agreement to the core terms of a peace proposal brokered by the Trump administration, with only small details left to finalize, something later affirmed by the White House.