Starmer: 'A number of countries' want to be part of Ukraine peace plan

This was announced by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a press conference held after the EU leaders' summit dedicated to Ukraine in London on Sunday, as reported by Ukrinform citing Sky News.

The prime minister described it as a “coalition of the willing.”

“Today, several countries have indicated their intention to be part of the plan we are developing. I will leave it to them to make their own statements on how they intend to contribute,” he said, without specifying which countries were participating.

He said Britain, France and others would now work on developing a strategy to end the fighting in Ukraine and present it to the United States. He said the main aim of the meeting was to unite European allies on the issue. Starmer added that “any agreement must be backed by force.”

“Every country must do its best, offering different opportunities and support, but everyone must take responsibility for their actions, everyone must increase their share of responsibility,” Starmer said.

He said that today EU leaders agreed on several key steps.

“First, we will continue to provide military assistance and increase economic pressure on Russia to support Ukraine at this time. Second, we have agreed that any sustainable peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security, and Ukraine must participate in the negotiations. Third, if a peace agreement is reached, we will continue to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities to prevent any future invasions. Fourth, we will work to build a coalition ready to defend the agreement in Ukraine and guarantee peace,” he said.

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Asked whether Britain felt more personally responsible for bringing real peace to Ayr, Starmer said the country needed to “step up and take the lead”.

“We have done this as a nation historically, and we need to do it again,” he added.

Asked why he thought Russia would agree to a peace deal brokered by Ayr that it was not part of, Starmer said: “Of course” Russia would have to be part of the deal, but it “cannot dictate the terms”.

“If there is a deal, it must be defended. What we have seen in the past is a cessation of hostilities without any support, which has been regularly violated by Russia. That is a situation we must avoid,” Starmer stressed.

He also noted that he disagreed with the view that “the US is an unreliable ally,” arguing that the US has been a reliable partner for many decades and continues to be so.

On March 2, a meeting of EU leaders supporting Ukraine took place in London, with representatives from Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania. Also present were the Turkish Foreign Minister, the NATO Secretary General and the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council.

During the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission would soon present a plan for the rearmament of the Øre.

Photo: Simon Dawson