European powers rallied behind Ukraine on Monday after President Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a day prior, accusing him of not reading the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We stand with Ukraine,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday as the leader was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in London.
Starmer said if a ceasefire is to be reached, it needs to be “just and lasting,” adding that it is why “it is so important we repeatedly set out the principle that matters about Ukraine are for Ukraine.”
The backing from the U.K. prime minister came after Trump said on Sunday tha…
European powers rallied behind Ukraine on Monday after President Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a day prior, accusing him of not reading the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We stand with Ukraine,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday as the leader was hosting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in London.
Starmer said if a ceasefire is to be reached, it needs to be “just and lasting,” adding that it is why “it is so important we repeatedly set out the principle that matters about Ukraine are for Ukraine.”
The backing from the U.K. prime minister came after Trump said on Sunday that he was a “bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”
“His people love it, but he hasn’t. Russia’s fine with it,” the president said. It was not clear if Trump was referring to the peace proposal that is already on the table or the new plan that is being worked on.
On Friday, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Ukrainian Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Andriy Hnatov and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, in Florida to discuss ending the nearly four-year war in Eastern Europe. The officials reconvened on Saturday and Ukraine said it is committed to the talks continuing.
After the meeting in London, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine could not cede territory as part of any deal.
“The meeting between the leaders in the E3 format and President Zelensky made it possible to continue joint work on the U.S. plan, with a view to complementing it with European contributions, in close coordination with Ukraine,” a French official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill on Monday following the meeting in London.
“This work is currently being finalized by the NSAs ahead of exchanges between Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians, which should help strengthen convergence in the coming days,” the official said, adding the work will be “deepened to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees, as well as to prepare measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
Last week, Witkoff and Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The Kremlin rejected parts of the Trump administration’s peace plan after the two sides held “constructive and substantive” talks, according to Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yury Ushakov.
The initial 28-point peace plan was met with heavy pushback from GOP lawmakers and European leaders, arguing that the plan is too favorable to Russia, with Ukraine having its military capabilities curtailed and having to give up part of the Donbas region.
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