British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London on Thursday in a show of the UK’s support for Ukraine a day before a critical US-Russia summit is set to take place in Alaska.
The two embraced warmly outside Starmer’s offices at 10 Downing Street without making any comments. Around an hour later, Starmer walked Zelenskyy back to his waiting car, and the two leaders shared another embrace as the Ukrainian president departed.
Zelenskyy’s trip to the British capital came a day after he took part in virtual meetings from Berlin with US President Donald Trump and the leaders of several European countries.
Those leaders said Trump had assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Anchorage.
Both Zelenskyy and the Europeans have worried the bilateral U.S.-Russia summit would leave them and their interests sidelined, and that any conclusions reached could favor Moscow and leave Ukraine and Europe’s future security in jeopardy.
Yet some of those leaders, like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, praised Wednesday’s video conference with Trump as constructive. Speaking after the meetings to reporters, Trump warned of “very severe consequences” for Russia if Putin does not agree to stop the war against Ukraine after Friday’s meeting.
The Kremlin on Thursday said the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska will start at 11:30 a.m. local time. Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, told reporters that Trump and Putin will first sit down for a one-on-one meeting followed by a meeting between the two delegations. Talks will then continue over “a working breakfast,” Ushakov said.
Putin on Thursday held a meeting with top government officials on the upcoming summit. In a short video released by the Kremlin, he said that Trump’s administration was making “quite energetic and sincere efforts to stop the hostilities” and to “reach agreements that are of interest to all parties involved in this conflict.”
Putin also suggested agreements could be reached with the U.S. “in the area of control over strategic offensive weapons at the next stage.”
Starmer on Wednesday said the Alaska summit would be “hugely important,” and could be a path to a ceasefire in Ukraine. But he also alluded to European concerns that Trump may strike a deal that forces Ukraine to cede territory to Russia, and warned that Western allies must be prepared to step up pressure on Russia if necessary.
During a call Wednesday among leaders of countries involved in the “coalition of the willing” — those who are prepared to help police any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv — Starmer stressed that any ceasefire deal must protect the “territorial integrity” of Ukraine.
“International borders cannot be, and must not be changed by force,’’ he said, adding that robust security guarantees must accompany any ceasefire to ensure that “Ukraine can defend its territorial integrity.”
Kyiv has long insisted that safeguards against future Russian attacks provided by its Western allies would be a precondition for achieving a durable end to the fighting in Ukraine. Yet many Western governments have been hesitant to commit to engaging their military personnel.
Countries in the “coalition of the willing,” which include France and the U.K., have been trying for months to secure U.S. security backing should it be required. Following Wednesday’s virtual meetings, Macron said Trump told the assembled leaders that while NATO must not be part of future security guarantees, “the United States and all the parties involved should take part.”
“It’s a very important clarification that we have received,” Macron said.
Trump did not reference any U.S. commitments to providing security guarantees during his comments to reporters on Wednesday.
