Starmer speaks with Trump after president’s Ukraine ceasefire talks with Putin
Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with Donald Trump after the US president’s summit with Vladimir Putin ended without a deal to stop the war in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister joined a call with Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as other European leaders, after the US-Russia ceasefire talks, Downing Street said.
Trump did not secure a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine after nearly three hours of talks with his Russian counterpart at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska.
After the negotiations, which took place alongside senior officials, the two presidents refused to answer questions from reporters.
However, both made statements, with Trump saying “some great progress” was made with “many points” agreed and “very few” remaining.
After the summit, Trump suggested there were only a few major stumbling blocks holding up the prospect of a peace deal.
Speaking to Fox News, he said it was now up to Zelensky to “make a deal” to end the war.
In a call after the summit, Sir Keir and Zelensky spoke with the US president alongside leaders from Italy, France, Finland, Germany and Poland, as well as Nato’s Mark Rutte, and Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission.
Sir Keir is due to speak again with European leaders this morning.
Zelensky said the call began as a one-on-one between him and the US president, before European Nato leaders joined them.
The Ukrainian leader also suggested he would travel to Washington DC at the start of next week to continue talks.
Writing on social media, the Ukrainian president said: “We support President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine emphasises that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.
“On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington DC, to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation.”
European allies must be “involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America”, he added.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump later described his meeting with the Russian leader as “very successful”.
He claimed that during the call between allies it was “determined by all that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere ceasefire agreement, which often times do not hold up”.
After Zelensky’s visit to the US on Monday, Trump said he hoped the Ukrainian leader could meet Putin, adding: “Potentially, millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
British personnel are ready to arrive in Ukraine “days” after Moscow and Kyiv agree to put fighting on hold, the Ministry of Defence earlier said as Trump met Putin.
Planning has continued on an “enduring basis” to deploy the so-called Multinational Force Ukraine to keep peace once the war is concluded, the MoD said.
The force, which resulted from months of talks between 30-plus countries known as the “coalition of the willing”, is aimed at warding off future Russian aggression.
By David Lynch and Will Durrant, PA Political Staff