Britain, France, Ukraine agree to work on ceasefire plan, to present it to US: Keir Starmer

Ahead of the European leaders meet in London to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday the United Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States.

The summit has been overshadowed by the verbal spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday.

Starmer said he's focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks and he used the collapse of those talks as an opportunity to re-engage with Trump and Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“We’ve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States," Starmer told the BBC.

The British prime minister and the French President have both spoken to Trump since Friday.

European military force

The London summit on Sunday is likely to include talks on establishing a European military force to be sent to Ukraine to underpin a ceasefire.

Starmer said the European military force would involve “a coalition of the willing.”

The summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania.

The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council will also attend.

The British PM said he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump.

“Do I believe Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that is yes,” he said.

There are “intense discussions” to get a security guarantee from the US as one of three components for a lasting peace, said Starmer.

“If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again,” Starmer said.

“That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there’s a deal, it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.”