LONDON

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there is “a real sense of unity” among Western allies in efforts to secure a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine, following high-level talks in Washington.

Downing Street said the prime minister co-chaired a virtual meeting of the "coalition of the willing" on Tuesday morning, joined by more than 30 international leaders.

The talks followed discussions in Washington overnight, which No. 10 described as “constructive.”

According to a Downing Street spokesperson, Starmer told the group that “it was clear there was a real sense of unity and shared goal of securing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.”

He said planning teams from the coalition would meet their US counterparts in the coming days “to further strengthen plans to deliver robust security guarantees and prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended.”

The leaders also discussed tightening pressure on Russia, saying “further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion.”

The statement added that Starmer looked forward to updating the group again “as further work progressed in the coming days and weeks.”

The initiative, led by the UK and France, envisages sending peacekeeping troops from a number of European and NATO countries in post-war Ukraine.

Trump on Monday said he and European leaders in Washington discussed security guarantees for Ukraine, and his administration began preparations for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and later a trilateral summit involving him.

The Washington meeting came after a Trump-Putin summit in the US state of Alaska aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

In a separate interview with Fox News, Trump said Zelenskyy should show some flexibility to end the more than three-year-long war.