AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a virtual summit of leaders from around the world yesterday to focus attention on a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Starmer said this so-called coalition of the willing must maintain military support for Ukraine, increase economic pain on Russia, and work to ensure that long-term safeguards are in place for any possible peace deal. From London, reporter Willem Marx has the story.
WILLEM MARX: After an awkward, heated meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month...
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.
MARX: It was British leader Keir Starmer and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron who've sought since then to coordinate Kyiv's allies. On a Zoom call from Downing Street, Starmer hosted two dozen world leaders from Australia and Canada, NATO and New Zealand.
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PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: President Zelenskyy, who's with us this morning, has shown once again that Ukraine is the party of peace.
MARX: Ukraine's government signed up to a ceasefire plan proposed by Trump's White House, brokered in Saudi Arabia. Now, Starmer and others are seeking to push President Vladimir Putin of Russia towards peace negotiations now - something that so far, he's been reluctant to seriously consider.
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STARMER: We agreed we will keep increasing the pressure on Russia, keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine, and keep tightening restrictions on Russia's economy to weaken Putin's war machine and bring him to the table.
MARX: That could mean more sanctions for Moscow, more funding for Kyiv and more of the intensive shuttle diplomacy in London, Paris, Riyadh and Washington, D.C. Starmer said his message was clear.
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STARMER: Sooner or later, Putin will have to come to the table. So this is the moment that the guns fall silent, that the barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all stop and agree to a ceasefire now.
MARX: The U.K. and France have promised to place their forces in Ukraine to police any ceasefire, and Starmer said others made new commitments to support such an effort, alongside fresh military spending promises in Europe. On Thursday, defense ministers from several nations will gather in London to discuss the potential capabilities of any such peacekeeping force. Starmer said...
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STARMER: Now is the time to engage in discussion on a mechanism to manage and monitor a full ceasefire and agree to serious negotiations towards not just a pause but a lasting peace, backed by strong security arrangements through our coalition of the willing.
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
MARX: President Zelenskyy had said on Friday he supported U.S. plans for an unconditional ceasefire in the sky, at sea and on the front lines. And President Trump said he, too, was hopeful Moscow might accept the proposal after his envoy Steve Witkoff went to Moscow.
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TRUMP: I'm getting from the standpoint about a ceasefire and, ultimately, a deal. Some pretty good vibes coming out of Russia.
MARX: For now, at least, it seems the choice to sign up to an even temporary truce rests with President Putin, but the conditions he set so far that include leaving large parts of Ukraine under Russian control are unlikely to satisfy Zelenskyy, Starmer or the other leaders who support Ukraine.
For NPR News, I'm Willem Marx in London.
(SOUNDBITE OF MEZERG'S "ZARBO TEMPO") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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