British PM meets Zelensky ahead of Trump-Putin talks
Kyiv • UNN
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday. The meeting will take place as Europe prepares for the outcome of Trump's talks with his Russian counterpart.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Downing Street on Thursday morning, as Europe prepares for the results of US President Donald Trump's personal talks with his Russian counterpart later this week, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
The meeting between the British Prime Minister and Volodymyr Zelenskyy comes after he stated that the UK is ready to "increase pressure" on Russia if necessary.
Meanwhile, Trump has threatened Russia with "serious consequences" if its leader rejects a ceasefire.
During a conversation with the US President and European allies on Wednesday, Starmer praised Trump for his work aimed at creating a "viable" chance for an end to the war.
But concerns have been raised about Zelenskyy's exclusion from the meeting between Trump and Putin, which is scheduled to take place in Alaska on Friday.
Speaking on Wednesday, Starmer said: "This meeting on Friday, with President Trump present, is extremely important. As I have personally told President Trump during the three and a bit years this conflict has been going on, we have no prospect of finding a viable solution, a viable way to bring it to a ceasefire. And now we have that chance thanks to the work the President has done."
He said that further sanctions could be imposed against Russia if the Kremlin does not take action, and the UK is already working on the next package of measures targeting Moscow.
"We are ready to support this, in particular, within the framework of the plans we have already developed for the deployment of assurance (support) forces after the cessation of hostilities," he told allies.
"It is important to remind colleagues that we are also ready to increase pressure on Russia, including on the economy, through sanctions and broader measures that may be needed," he noted.
Starmer and European leaders have repeatedly stated that discussions about Ukraine should not take place without it, amid fears that the country remains sidelined in negotiations about its own future.
When asked if it was his decision not to invite Zelenskyy to the meeting, Trump replied: "No, on the contrary," before adding that a second meeting with the Ukrainian President could take place afterwards.
"We had a very good conversation, he was on the call, President Zelenskyy was on the call. I would rate it a 10, you know, very, very friendly," he told reporters in Washington.
Trump added: "There's a very good chance we'll have a second meeting that will be more productive than the first, because the first one - I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing."
The US President had previously suggested that a truce could include some "exchange" of territories.
It is believed that one of the Russian leader's demands is Ukraine's concession of parts of Donbas that it still controls.
But Zelenskyy has already rejected any proposal that would jeopardize Ukraine's territorial integrity, which is prohibited by the country's Constitution.
A joint statement by the "coalition of the willing," led by Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, states that "international borders must not be changed by force."
It adds: "Sanctions and broader economic measures to pressure Russia's war economy should be strengthened if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire in Alaska."
The "coalition of the willing" is a European initiative to send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine in the event of a truce.