At a summit in London on Sunday, European leaders united in favor of Kyiv, promising to increase security spending and form a coalition to uphold any Ukrainian truce.
Additionally, French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a newspaper interview after returning from the conference that France and Britain intended to suggest a one-month partial truce.
Just two days after US President Donald Trump chastised Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in front of reporters at the White House, the discussions, which brought together 18 allies, took place.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain, France “and others” would work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which they would then put to Washington.
The London meeting came at a delicate moment for war-battered Ukraine, facing uncertain US backing and on the back foot against Russia’s three-year invasion.
Trump’s row with Zelensky also raised fresh questions over the US commitment to NATO.
Starmer said Europe found itself “at a crossroads in history.
“This is not a moment for more talk — it’s time to act. It’s time to step up and lead and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.”
Starmer stated that “Europe must do the heavy lifting” without ensuring US participation.
He said, without identifying them, that a number of nations were prepared to support the defense of any truce.
Macron stated that he and Starmer were negotiating a one-month truce in Ukraine “in the air, at sea, and on energy infrastructure” in an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro.
When the BBC asked him about the plan, he said, “I’m aware of everything.”
