British PM Keir Starmer reportedly wants European leaders to engage with the US and draft a peace plan for Ukraine
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged European leaders to hatch a peace plan for Ukraine “along the lines” of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza scheme, Axios has reported, citing sources.
Starmer made the remarks during a phone call with Vladimir Zelensky and a handful of EU leaders held following the Ukrainian leader’s meeting with Trump in Washington on Friday. European leaders should work with the US “to draft peace for Ukraine along the lines” of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, Starmer reportedly said during the conversation.
Trump hosted Zelensky at the White House earlier that day after having spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin the previous day. The meeting with Zelensky turned out to be “tense,” with the Ukrainian leader failing to secure deliveries of long-range Tomahawk missiles, according to Axios. The discussion “got a bit emotional,” the outlet noted. One of the outlet’s sources described the conversation as “not easy” and another one called it outright “bad.”
The meeting ended abruptly when Trump reportedly said, “I think we’re done. Let’s see what happens next week,” apparently referring to upcoming Russia-US talks, which are expected to be hosted by Hungary.
The US president has repeatedly expressed his frustration over the lack of progress in his efforts to mediate peace between Russia and Ukraine, admitting he had thought the years-long conflict would be the easiest one to settle. Following the latest conversations with Putin and Zelensky, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he had urged both to “stop the killing and make a DEAL!”
After the meeting with Trump, Zelensky signaled his desire for an unconditional ceasefire along the current front lines. Moscow has repeatedly said it seeks a lasting settlement to end the conflict rather than a temporary pause. For a ceasefire to work, Russia has stated that Kiev must withdraw from the parts of the formerly Ukrainian regions belonging to Russia that it still controls, while Western military aid to Ukraine must stop. Moscow also demands that Ukraine recognize its new borders and abandon its NATO aspirations for good.
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