British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and fellow European leaders praised U.S. President Donald Trump for his efforts to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine with a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Although no ceasefire or concrete peace deal was agreed to in Anchorage, Alaska, between Washington and Moscow, there is room for optimism about potentially ending the three and a half year war, British and European leaders expressed on Saturday.
“President Trump’s efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended,” British PM Starmer said per the Times of London.
This sentiment was shared by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who commented: “For years we have watched the two biggest nuclear powers dismantle the framework of their cooperation and shoot unfriendly messages back and forth. That has now come to an end. Today, the world is a safer place than it was yesterday.”
Italian Prime Minsiter Giorgia Meloni also expressed optimism over the Trump-Putin talks, saying: “A glimmer of hope has finally opened to discuss peace in Ukraine. Italy is doing its part, along with its western allies.”
However, other top Europeans expressed some doubt over Putin’s sincerity, with the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, claiming that Moscow has no intention of agreeing to end the war “anytime soon”.
The Estonian politician said: “President [Donald] Trump’s resolve to get a peace deal is vital … Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments.
“The US holds the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously. The EU will work with Ukraine and the US.”
Meanwhile, in a joint statement published on Saturday, signed by French President Macron, German Chancellor Merz, Finnish President Stuff, Polish PM Tusk, Prime Minister Starmer, Meloni, and EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, Ukraine’s European allies pushed for a “trilateral” meeting between Trump, Zelensky and Putin.
The Euro leaders went on to say that any deal should not include any “limitations” placed on Ukraine from potentially joining the NATO military alliance, which Russia has claimed is one of its red lines.
“We are clear that Ukraine must have ironclad security guarantees to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We welcome President Trump’s statement that the US is prepared to give security guarantees. The Coalition of the Willing is ready to play an active role,” the leaders said.
“No limitations should be placed on Ukraine’s armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries. Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine‘s pathway to EU and NATO.”
Separately, President Zelensky said that after having met with his European counterparts this week, he plans to meet with President Trump on Monday.
For his part, President Trump said following his meeting with Putin that “a lot of points were agreed on” but said that there are still “one or two pretty significant items” on the table.
“I think we are pretty close to a deal. Now look, Ukraine has to agree to it. Maybe they will say no … Now it’s up to President Zelensky to get it done.”
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