UK says Zelenskyy must be part of peace talks, calls for ‘robust security guarantees’ for Ukraine
British premier says UK, US, Europe stand ready to support next phase, vows tighter sanctions on Russia until war ends
Credit: Ukrainian Presidency / Handout
GENEVA
The UK prime minister on Saturday said that "the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without" involving Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This came a day after US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart met in Alaska.
"While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelenskyy. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him," Keir Starmer said in a statement.
Starmer said he had spoken with Trump, Zelenskyy and European partners earlier in the day, and that all "stand ready to support this next phase."
He welcomed US and European openness to give Kyiv "robust security guarantees" as part of a future deal. "This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more," he said.
Until then, the UK will continue to press Moscow economically, the prime minister said. "In the meantime, until he (Putin) stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions, which have already had a punishing impact on the Russian economy and its people," Starmer said.
"Our unwavering support for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes," he added.
He also praised Trump's efforts, saying his efforts have brought "us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine."
Trump and Putin were upbeat after their more than three-hour closed-door talks, with the Russian leader saying they had come to reach an "understanding."
After the meeting, Trump said that it is now up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders "to get it done."
"A lot of points were agreed on, there's not that much, you know, one or two pretty significant items, but I think they can be reached," Trump said during a Fox News interview following his historic sit-down with Putin in Alaska.
"Now, it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit, but it's up to President Zelenskyy," he added.
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