Starmer hosts Zelenskyy with Macron and Merz today amid US pressure: what will be discussed in London
Kyiv • UNN
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The meeting takes place amid fears that the US may pressure Ukraine to accept a peace deal with Russia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday hosts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his French and German counterparts as part of European states' efforts to mobilize support for Ukraine amid growing US pressure for a peace deal with Russia, the Financial Times reports, writes UNN.
Details
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrive for a meeting at the British Prime Minister's office on Downing Street in London on Monday to express support for Zelenskyy amid fears that the US may try to force Ukraine to accept a deal that heavily involves Russia, the publication writes.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday, as the publication indicates, suggested that Zelenskyy is stalling a deal and has not even "read" the latest plan.
Europe's concern about the US position was fueled by the publication of the US national security strategy, which accuses European officials of standing in the way of a peace deal, the publication notes. The strategy states that the US's "primary interest" is a "rapid" cessation of hostilities and "restoration of strategic stability with Russia."
On Sunday, Starmer spoke with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, and both reaffirmed "the need for continued international support for Ukraine's defense," according to a statement from Downing Street.
What will be discussed in London
The goal of the meeting in London is "to maintain Ukraine's resilience at a difficult moment," an official from the Élysée Palace said.
The talks will aim to "consolidate" the European-Ukrainian position on peace terms that "would allow us to get closer on a solid basis with the Americans," the official added. "It is important for the Americans to hear from the Ukrainians what is possible and what is not," he pointed out.
Zelenskyy is expected to brief other leaders on recent talks between Ukrainian and American officials.
Merz is expected to brief his counterparts on Belgium's opposition to EU plans to use frozen Russian sovereign assets after meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
The initiative, which the UK has offered to join and which EU leaders will discuss at a summit on December 18-19, involves using frozen Russian sovereign assets held in Europe to raise a loan for Ukraine to finance its military and budgetary needs.
Europe's efforts to use Russian assets gained additional urgency after the White House last month proposed using them to invest in Ukraine and Russia under the initial terms of its peace proposal.
Addition
Ukrainian officials, supported by European capitals, have made intensive diplomatic efforts to improve the terms of the US plan, the publication writes.
On Saturday from Kyiv, Zelenskyy said he had a "long and meaningful phone conversation" with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as with Ukraine's chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov after a meeting of the four in Miami.
The meeting in Miami took place after Witkoff and Kushner spent five hours with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin last week to discuss some points of the revised US peace proposal.
He said he agreed with the Americans "on the next steps and formats of negotiations with the United States" and would receive a "detailed" account of the meetings in Miami when he meets Umerov and Hnatov in person.