Ukraine 'agrees to amended peace deal brokered by Trump,' US official says
Ukraine has agreed to an amended peace deal following negotiations with the United States, American officials have said.
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According to US media, ‘the Ukrainians have agreed to the peace deal,’ but some minor details still need to be worked out.
Russia, however, has signalled it will reject any amendments to the original US-Russia plan that was leaked last week.
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman meanwhile has said the UK is still planning to place troops in Ukraine as part of a multinational force after any ceasefire is agreed.
Russia has rejected any foreign military deployment in Ukraine, calling it “unacceptable”.
Moscow has indicated it would likely reject any modified version of the US peace plan.
Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said today that if the plan “erased...key understands” that Putin and Donald Trump had reached in Alaska earlier this year, the “situation will be fundamentally different”.
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Earlier on Tuesday, Sir Keir spoke directly to Volodymyr Zelensky, telling the Ukrainian president he could rely on the UK's support as discussions of a ceasefire continued.
Mr Zelensky said he had had a "good and very productive" conversation with Sir Keir.
Later on Tuesday, the Prime Minister will convene a meeting of the 36 nations in the coalition of the willing to discuss both the peace process and plans for a peacekeeping force to be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire.
No 10 said it would not get ahead of discussions among the coalition of the willing on Tuesday afternoon but that "planning has continued on an enduring basis" following the UK and France's commitment in the summer to a multinational force to help strengthen Ukraine's path to peace.
Asked whether Britain was still prepared to put boots on the ground, Sir Keir's official spokesman said: "If you're asking me directly, is the UK still willing to put boots on the ground in the event of hostilities ceasing, the answer is yes."
Tuesday's discussions follow talks between US and Ukrainian representatives in Geneva over the weekend about a peace plan set out by Donald Trump's administration following discussions with Russia.
Ukraine and its European allies have pushed back against the 28-point plan, which contained significant concessions to Moscow.
In the Commons, Sir Keir said he had spoken to Mr Trump and welcomed "the continued efforts of the United States to end the war and stop the killing".
He said the American plan "included points that were not acceptable", but added that it contained "some very important elements" such as security guarantees from the US and other partners.
Meanwhile US army secretary Dan Driscoll met Russian officials for several hours in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to discuss the latest developments after the talks with Ukraine in Geneva.
Mr Zelensky is expected to travel to Washington before the end of November "to complete final steps and make a deal with President Trump", senior Ukrainian official Rustem Umerov said.