Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with European allies as Donald Trump accuses him of not reading US-led peace plan

31 minutes agoMon 8 Dec 2025 at 6:53pm

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron shake hands on the 10 Downing Street doorstep after the meeting. (Reuters: Adrian Dennis)

In short:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with European allies in London, as the leaders of Britain, France and Germany show a united front.

It comes after talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Miami on Saturday about a US-led peace proposal ended without a breakthrough.

Kyiv’s allies expressed doubts about the Trump administration’s plan and said they would not force Ukraine into accepting any proposal.

European leaders put on a show of support for Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they voiced scepticism about elements of the US-led proposal to end Russia’s war.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted the president, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron at his Downing Street residence in London on Monday, local time.

The discussions came after President Donald Trump accused Mr Zelenskyy of not reading his administration’s proposal on a deal to end Russia’s invasion following almost four years of war.

That came after days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough, with Mr Zelenskyy committing to further negotiations.

"I’m sceptical about some of the details which we are seeing in the documents coming from the US side, but we have to talk about it. That’s why we are here," Mr Merz said at the top of Monday’s meeting, without specifying which version of the proposal he was referring to.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with his British, French and German counterparts in London. (Reuters: Toby Melville)

Mr Macron said the "main issue" was finding a "convergence" between the European and Ukrainian position and that of the United States.

Sir Keir hugged Mr Zelenskyy as he welcomed the Ukrainian leader to Downing Street shortly after 1pm, local time, with the talks lasting a little over an hour.

The UK premier had earlier said he would not be pushing Mr Zelenskyy to accept the deal spearheaded by the Trump administration, the initial version of which was criticised by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.

"I won’t be putting pressure on the president," Sir Keir told ITV News.

"The most important thing is to ensure that if there is a cessation of hostilities, and I hope there is, it has to be just and it has to be lasting, which is what we will be focused on this afternoon," the UK prime minister added.

But Mr Zelenskyy said as he headed into the meeting that "there are some things which we can’t manage without Americans, things which we can’t manage without Europe, and that’s why we need to make some important decisions".

An official familiar with the negotiations told journalists on Monday that territory was still "the most problematic issue" in the negotiations.

The tricky subject of how Europe could potentially best use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine was also discussed.

A UK official told reporters that Sir Keir would "update President Zelenskyy on our wider support today, including through the use of the value of immobilised Russian sovereign assets, which we hope to see movement on soon".

A European Union plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Kyiv’s fight against Russia would have "far-reaching consequences" for the EU, Moscow’s ambassador to Germany warned last week.

‘Disappointed’

Earlier, Mr Zelenskyy said he had joined his negotiators for a "very substantive and constructive" call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the Miami negotiations.

"Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace," Mr Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed "on the next steps and the format of the talks with America".

But Mr Trump criticised his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters: "I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago."

Special envoy Steve Witkoff (right) has travelled to Russia several times this year to try and strike a deal over Ukraine. (Reuters: Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov)

Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.

Before Monday’s talks, Mr Macron slammed what he called Russia’s "escalatory path".

"We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible," he wrote on X.

"We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace."

Hot and cold

Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the conflict involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get to fend off any future Russian invasion has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.

Mr Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Mr Zelenskyy for not being grateful for US support.

But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results, and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.

AFP