Starmer says ‘coalition of the willing’ to present Ukraine peace plan to US

Starmer says ‘coalition of the willing’ to present Ukraine peace plan to US

Leaders from NATO and the European Union meet in London to support Ukraine [Justin Tallis/Pool via Reuters]

 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told European leaders that they all need to step up to a “once-in-a-generation moment” for the security of the continent, at a summit in London aimed at strengthening military cooperation and reaffirming support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

At a summit in London on Sunday, just two days after Volodymyr Zelenskyy clashed with US President Donald Trump and cut short a visit to Washington, world leaders offered a strong show of support to the Ukrainian leader and promised to do more to help his nation.

European leaders agreed they must spend more on defence to show Trump the continent can protect itself, and with many nations struggling with already stretched public finances, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested the bloc could ease its rules around debt.

Starmer said the United Kingdom, Ukraine, France and some other nations would form a “coalition of the willing” and draw up a peace plan to take to Trump. He did not mention which other nations, but said more countries were willing to join.

“We are at a crossroads in history today,” Starmer said. “This is not a moment for more talk. It’s time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.”

Starmer, who also announced a deal allowing Ukraine to use 1.6 billion pounds ($2bn) of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, said “Europe must do the heavy lifting” in securing peace in Ukraine.

“But to support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing,” he said.

The three essentials Starmer listed for a successful peace deal were: arming the Ukrainians to put them in a position of strength; including a European element to guarantee security; and providing a “US backstop”, to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from breaking his promises.

Starmer’s call for European allies to increase their arms spending to shore up their own defences and Ukraine’s was not a sign that he thought the US had become an unreliable ally, he said. No two countries are more closely aligned than the UK and the US, Starmer said.

Representatives from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Turkiye, NATO and the European Union attended Sunday’s summit.