Sir Keir Starmer has declared that plans to put a peacekeeping force in Ukraine have now entered an “operational phase”, as Britain prepares to host military chiefs from a group of Western countries ready to support a ceasefire.
Sending the strongest signal yet that the ‘coalition of the willing’ is pressing ahead with the pledge to back a ceasefire deal with troops on the ground, the PM said allies would be prepared to “help secure Ukraine on the land, at sea and in the sky.”
“We won’t sit back and wait for Putin to act”, the prime minister warned, vowing to “keep pushing forward” with their plan for peace.
Speaking from Downing Street, Sir Keir said Thursday’s meeting will see military chiefs from across the world put in place “strong and robust plans…to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security”.
The PM also piled pressure on Vladimir Putin to accept peace proposals and attempted to draw a clear dividing between Donald Trump and the Kremlin dictator, warning that Russia is trying to delay Mr Trump’s plan for peace in the region.
Despite the US president saying he held “good and productive” talks with Russia on Friday, Putin has been accused of using delay tactics to stall the negotiations.
“Sooner or later, Putin will have to come to the table”, Sir Keir warned.
“This is the moment, let the guns fall silent, let the barbaric attacks on Ukraine, once and for all, stop and agree to a ceasefire now.”
Sir Keir also said “new commitments” had been made on tightening sanctions on Russia, warning that “Russia’s appetite for conflict and chaos undermines our security back here at home”.
His address came after a virtual meeting with 29 other world leaders, including Volodymyr Zelensky and Emmanuel Macron.
“The group that met this morning is a bigger group than we had two weeks ago, there is a stronger collective resolve and new commitments were put on the table this morning, both in relation to the coalition of the willing in terms of defending the deal, also in relation to the wider point, which is the collective defence and security of Europe”, he said.
“So, more commitments on the table this morning and an agreement that we now move to the operational phase, which is why the talks on Thursday, the military talks, will become the next focal point.”
But questions remain over which countries have made concrete commitments to a peacekeeping force, how large the force will be and whether or not it will have a clear basis in international law.
Asked about what action a peacekeeping force could take, Sir Keir said this would be a subject of discussion between military chiefs on Thursday.
He said: “There are different capabilities from different countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going on in relation to what this coalition of the willing will be able to provide.”
Among the other attendees at Saturday’s meeting were Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had been reportedly considering not joining the call due to scepticism about Anglo-French peacekeeping proposals.
As well as European nations, the leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand also joined the call, as did Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.
Saturday’s meeting followed an intense week of diplomacy in which American officials put a US-Ukraine proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to Russia.
But the Kremlin has so far resisted the proposal, saying it would only agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine also agreed to abandon its aim of joining Nato and gave up some of its territory to Russia.
Speaking from the Cabinet room in No 10 on Saturday, Sir Keir told world leaders they could not “sit back and wait” for a ceasefire in Ukraine, adding: “We have to keep pushing ahead, pushing forward and preparing for peace, and a peace that will be secure and that will last.”
Earlier on Saturday, Putin’s first prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who now opposes the Russian president, said his former boss would not accept Nato or European troops being deployed to Ukraine, but might agree to soldiers from “friendly countries” such as India and Brazil.
Following the meeting, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the prime minister to seize Russian assets and use them to fund more support for Ukraine, saying this was “the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace”.
Asked about whether he had discussed seizing Russian assets with his counterparts, Sir Keir said it had been discussed, but added it was “a complicated question”.
Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine launched drone attacks overnight, each reporting more than 100 enemy drones entering their respective airspaces.
No casualties have been reported and both countries’ defence ministries claim to have shot down around 130 enemy drones.