'We stand with Ukraine': Starmer holds peace talks with leaders in show of 'European unity'

The leaders have met at Number 10 in a show of "European unity".

Starmer said any deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war would need “hard-edged” security guarantees to prevent Vladimir Putin restarting the conflict.

The meeting comes as Donald Trump stepped up his criticism of Ukraine’s president over the weekend, accusing him of failing to read the latest peace plan.

The US President added that he was "little disappointed” in Mr Zelensky, while insisting Mr Putin was "fine" with his proposals.

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Before talks began in London, Sir Keir said Putin would only "respect" a deal that had "hard-edged security guarantees behind it".

“It is important that we bear in mind that this conflict is nearly four years old, that Russia is the aggressor, and therefore, if there is to be a ceasefire, it needs to be just," the PM said.

"Because Ukraine has taken heavy, heavy losses and paid a very heavy price for a war which was not of their making – but it’s also got to be lasting, because we know Putin does not respect agreements that don’t have hard-edged security guarantees behind them, so that’s what we’ll be focusing on.”

Mr Zelenskyy's visit to London comes after his officials concluded three days of talks with their US counterparts on those proposals as the White House presses Kyiv to accept a deal.

Over the weekend, Mr Zelenskyy said he had discussed "next steps" with Donald Trump's advisers and was "determined to keep working in good faith".

But the negotiators also acknowledged that any "real progress" will depend "on Russia's readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace".

Despite Mr Trump’s White House criticising European leaders for having “unrealistic expectations” about the war, Sir Keir paid tribute to the US president.

"You can never get from conflict to peace by an easy, straight route,” he said.

Ukraine and its European allies are likely to insist that any ceasefire comes with security guarantees from both the US and the "coalition of the willing" convened by the UK and France, while also objecting to any transfer of territory to Russia.

Sir Keir has repeatedly said that Ukraine must be allowed to determine its own future, while one of his senior ministers said on Sunday that the country must not be left "toothless" in the face of Russian aggression.

But Russia has repeatedly rejected the prospect of allied troops being stationed in Ukraine and continues to demand large swathes of Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace.

And Russian forces have continued their assault on Ukraine over the weekend.

At least four people were killed in drone and missile strikes on Sunday, while Moscow continues to target Ukrainian infrastructure in a bid to "weaponise" the cold by denying civilians access to heat and power.

Monday's meeting also comes in the wake of the publication of a new US national security strategy that made improving relations with Moscow one of Washington's top priorities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed the document, saying it was broadly in line with Moscow's own vision.

On Sunday, Mr Trump told reporters that Mr Zelenskyy "isn't ready" to sign the US-authored peace proposal.

"I'm a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn't yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago. His people love it, but he hasn't," he said.

"Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I'm not sure that Zelenskyy's fine with it. His people love it. But he isn't ready."

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will fly to Washington on Monday for talks with her US counterpart Marco Rubio.

She is expected to focus on efforts to secure an end to the war in Ukraine, as well as UK-US cooperation on global security and the ceasefire in Gaza.