London (AP) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Used Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to register for a ceasefire in his war against Ukraine If it is serious about peace, and said that the Allies will continue to increase the pressure on the Kremlin, including by planning a peacekeeping force to an “operational phase”.
After a two-hour virtual meeting of what he described as “coalition of willingly”, Starmer said that the “draft hole and delay” of the Kremlin on the cease-fire proposal from US President Donald Trump, and the “continuous barbaric attacks of Russia” against Ukraine, “run entirely against” Putin “of Putin.
“We have agreed that now the ball was before the Russian Court, and President Putin must prove that he is serious about peace and is part of a cease-fire equally,” said the Prime Minister.
Thirty leaders participated in the call, including European partners such as French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, and the leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as officials of NATO and the executive of the European Union.
Starmer summoned the meeting, the second in two weeks, as a means of helping Ukraine in the face of a change of approach by the United States, after the return of President Donald Trump, as well as support for any future possible peacekeeping mission. Much more countries were involved this time that the previous meeting on March 2.
He said that there was a “stronger collective resolution and new commitments had been put on the table”, both in relation to the defense of the agreement and also on the broader question of the defense and security of Europe.
Troops in Ukraine to protect peace
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Starmer said that all participants had reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine’s long -term security and agreed that Ukraine “should be able to defend itself and dissuade future Russian assault”.
He added that “robust and credible security arrangements” are the best way to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine, and said that military planners would meet again in the United Kingdom on Thursday to progress in practical plans to support the future security of Ukraine.
Without providing specific details, Starmer once again said that the Allies were ready to put troops in Ukraine to protect peace after any cease-fire. The United Kingdom and France worked to bring the Ukrainian allies to provide troops, weapons or another aid to a European military force which could be deployed to reassure Ukraine and dissuade Russia from attacking again.
“We will constitute the own defenses and armed forces of Ukraine, and be ready to deploy as a” coalition of willingly “in the event of a peace agreement, to help secure Ukraine on earth, in sea and in the sky,” he added.
Unables ceasefire
The meeting took place following an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, which Zelenskyy argued. Putin said he supports a truce in principle but has established a multitude of details that must be clarified before accepting a cease-fire.
Starmer said Zelenskyy’s support for an unconditional ceasefire shows that Ukraine is the “peace party”.
Zelenskyy emerged from the meeting calling for reinforced sanctions to put pressure on Russia to accept an unconditional ceasefire that could open the way to a peace agreement. In a series of messages on X, he said that “Moscow understands a language” and that a 30-day ceasefire “without killings” would create a window in which “it would be really possible to negotiate all aspects of real peace”.
He also said that it was not in place in Putin who is parked in Ukraine after any peace agreement when he supported a European contingent on the ground with an American “security net”.
“If Putin wants to bring a foreign contingent to the territory of Russia, it is his business. But it is not his business to decide anything on the security of Ukraine and Europe, “said Zelenskyy.
“Good vibrations coming out of Russia”
The United States has moved his approach to war since Trump’s return to the White House. The change of approach compared to that taken by President Joe Biden became particularly notable after Trump clashed with Zelenskyy on February 28 at the Oval Office.
Starmer took the lead, with Macron, by assembling the “coalition of it willingly”, in part to persuade Trump to maintain support for kyiv. A result has already been an increasing acceptance of European countries in particular that they must do more to ensure their own security, in particular by increasing their defense expenses.
Trump expressed optimism on Friday that Putin, who met the American envoy Steve Witkoff earlier in the week, will support a cease-fire.
“I receive from the point of view of a ceasefire and, in the end, very good vibrations that came out of Russia,” he said.
Ukraine, under severe military pressure on certain parts of the front line three years after the large -scale invasion of Russia, has already approved Truce’s proposal. The Russian army has taken the momentum of the battlefield, and analysts say that Putin will probably be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire when he feels that he has an advantage.
“Sooner or later Putin will have to come to the table,” said Starmer. “So it’s time, let the rifles be silent, let the barbaric attacks against Ukraine, once and for all, stop and accept a cease-fire now.”
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