ISTANBUL

The leaders of France, Germany and the UK – the E3 – held a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday as "intensive work" continues over a US peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

The UK government announced in a statement that Prime Minister Keir Starmer talked over the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Trump to discuss "the latest on the ongoing US-led peace talks."

"Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days. They agreed that this was a critical moment – for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Kyiv is finalizing a 20-point document aimed at defining the parameters for ending the war, intending to deliver it to the US soon.

Talks continue between Kyiv, Washington and European capitals on a reduced US-backed 20-point peace framework, after earlier drafts were narrowed from 28 points and stripped of what Ukrainian officials described as non-Ukrainian provisions.