Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer opened the meeting Sunday by saying they have a “once in a generation moment” to step up for the security of Europe.
“Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression,” Starmer said.
Starmer, flanked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, said the three of them had agreed to work on a plan to stop the fighting in Ukraine, and take that to the U.S., which has discussed brokering a peace deal.
The U.K. leader said he’s focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy and Macron rather than “ramp up the rhetoric.”
Zelenskyy’s presence comes two days after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. Their meeting broke down in dramatic fashion as Trump scolded Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for U.S. support and the two argued over a proposed deal that would grant the U.S. access to rare Ukrainian minerals in exchange for ongoing military support in the war against Russia.
The planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was supposed to finalize an agreement granting the U.S. access to rare Ukrainian minerals in exchange for ongoing military support in the war against Russia. Despite its outcome, Olga Khakova of the Atlantic Council says ‘not everything is off the table yet,’ although private conversations are needed between the leaders.
Zelenskyy arrived after several of his peers, including Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte were also present.
Raising the prospect of leadership change in Ukraine
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, is raising the prospect that Zelenskyy may need to leave office if a peace deal is to be reached.
“Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” the Louisiana Republican told NBC’s Meet the Press.
Johnson said “it’s up to the Ukrainians to figure that out.” He added that under Trump, the United States is “reasserting peace through strength.”
The idea of Zelenskyy stepping aside had come up Friday after the Oval Office meeting. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told reporters outside the White House that Zelenskyy “either needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with or he needs to change.”
Macron talks of threat to Europe
Macron says Russia must be stopped or it’s likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine further west.
Macron told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper ahead of the summit that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions pose an existential threat to Europe.
“We have an over-armed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe,” Macron said. If Putin is not stopped, Macron said, “he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania.”
“It’s our security that’s at stake,” Macron added.
“The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that,” he said. “I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests.”
Starmer briefs Baltic leaders about peace efforts
The leaders of the three Baltic states were not invited to the summit, but Starmer’s office said he has updated the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about his efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
Meloni told Starmer that the West must remain united in support of Ukraine.
Meloni said she is in London at a “precious moment” for the summit with the goal of achieving a lasting peace for Ukraine. “I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides,” Meloni said. “On this, the U.K. and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building.”
Starmer told Meloni that they have a similar mindset on their approach over the conflict. Both leaders said they spoke with Trump on Saturday, a day after his talks with Zelenskyy collapsed. Meloni is a strong supporter of Ukraine and has a bond with Trump. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration.
Czech PM advocates for military support
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says that only “military support for Ukraine” can lead to a just peace and that it’s the only way forward to resolve Russia’s war on Kyiv.
The diverging views that Europe and the U.S. have on Ukraine should be “a wake-up call for us,” he said. Fiala spoke before leaving for London on Sunday to take part in the summit. Fiala added that he hopes Trump and Zelenskyy can repair their ties in the wake of the Oval Office blowout.
“None of us is happy about the conclusion of Friday’s talks” between Trump and Zelenskyy, he said.
Russia’s foreign minister talks of possible ‘incitement’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday that sending any European peacekeepers to Ukraine would amount to a continuation of Europe’s “incitement” of Ukraine to wage war against Russia.
European leaders, Lavrov said in comments published on the Foreign Ministry’s website, “want to prop up [Zelenskyy] with their ‘bayonets’ in the form of peacekeeping units.”
After Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s heated White House meeting, The National’s Erica Johnson asks a former ambassador and a Russia expert to break down what it means for Ukraine, Russia and the rest of Europe.
Lavrov also commented on the warming U.S.-Russia relations, describing negotiations between senior Russian and U.S. diplomats and other officials in Saudi Arabia in February as “a completely normal conversation between two delegations.”
“We will never think alike on every issue of world politics. We acknowledged this in Riyadh,” Lavrov said.
“Two serious countries simply sat down to talk about where they are going wrong, and what their predecessor messed up in four years,” he added, accusing the Biden administration of “destroying all channels of contact without exception.”
Kremlin praises U.S. foreign policies
With a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the “foreign policy” alignment of the U.S. administration largely mirrors that of Moscow.
“The new [U.S.] administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Peskov said, according to a post by state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin on Sunday on the Telegram channel.
Peskov spoke on Wednesday, before the Zelenskyy-Trump blowout on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President J.D. Vance had a tense exchange at the White House on Friday, with the U.S. leaders calling Zelenskyy ‘disrespectful’ and calling for the Ukrainian leader to thank them for assistance.
His remarks were seen as a followup on the U.S. splitting with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. In the UN General Assembly last week, the U.S. joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow’s aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.
Ties between Moscow and Washington had plummeted to their lowest levels since the Cold War after Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and invaded Ukraine in 2022.
