PM and European allies speak to Trump and Zelensky to ‘align’ response to Russia
The leaders of the United Kingdom, Ukraine, France, Germany, and Poland held a phone call with the US president on Friday to discuss developments in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the leaders discussed “closely aligning“ a response to Russia’s “unacceptable” position in peace talks with Ukraine, after Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to attend the first direct talks between the two warring nations in Istanbul on Thursday and Friday.
After the phone call, Sir Keir told reporters at the European Political Community Summit in Tirana, Albania on Friday: “We just had a meeting with President Zelensky and then a phone call with President Trump to discuss the developments in the negotiations today.”
“And the Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time.“
“So as a result of that meeting with President Zelensky and that call with President Trump we are now closely aligning our responses and will continue to do so.”
The phone call follows the first meeting between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The two sides met in Istanbul this week for peace talks which lasted less than two hours and resulted in both sides agreeing to the biggest prisoner exchange since the war began.
The head of Russia’s delegation in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, said the countries had agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each. Medinsky also said Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to provide each other with detailed proposals for a ceasefire.
Sir Keir said the prisoner swap was “obviously a good thing” but that “we need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire”.
“And I’m very keen to continue to put that pressure on, because we need to make sure that Putin comes to the table, but his actions this week still show me that he’s not serious yet about peace.”
More than 40 leaders attended the European Political Community Summit for talks expected to focus on imposing tougher sanctions on Russia if the Kremlin does not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. Russian energy is likely to be a target.
Moscow has so far resisted calls for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, a proposal backed by Kyiv and Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not turn up to peace talks in Istanbul, despite calls from Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky for Putin to attend. Putin instead sent a low-level delegation.
Zelensky had previously said he would only attend the talks in Istanbul if the Russian leader also attended in person.
Vladimir Medinsky said Zelensky had again requested a meeting between the two heads of state during talks in Istanbul, which Russia would consider.
At the European Political Community Summit, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte told reporters Mr Putin had made “a big mistake” by sending a low-level delegation to Istanbul.
He said: “Ukraine clearly wants to play ball. They are very serious about this.”
Sir Keir also met with Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the summit in Tirana, ahead of the UK-EU summit in London on Monday.
Reports suggest a deal on British access to a major EU defence fund could be reached on Monday, but arguments over fishing rights and a youth mobility scheme may prevent an agreement.
Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said work was progressing on a defence deal, but added: “We’re not there yet.”