Sir Keir Starmer said that the result of the talks between the Ukraine allies in kyiv marks an “important moment” in the thrust to guarantee a cease-fire in his conflict with Russia-but admitted that it was not “the end of the process”.
Addressing the BBC in kyiv following a virtual meeting of the “coalition of wills”, the British Prime Minister declared “we did not see the unit like this quite well throughout the conflict”.
Thirty world leaders have reaffirmed their call for Russia to accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire on Monday, threatening “massive” sanctions if it does not comply.
Noting other conflicts, including Indian-Pakistani hostilities, Sir Keir said that “we live in a more uncertain world” which “requires leadership of intensification”.
The British Prime Minister joined French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for the meeting, organized by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky.
Other members of the “Coalition of the Willing” participated at a distance, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, president of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen and Mark Rutte, NATO secretary general.
During a telephone call with Donald Trump after the meeting, the American president would have reaffirmed his support for the ceasefire, after Vladimir Putin rejected his initial proposal in March.
Sir Keir said Trump was “absolutely clear that it is a request that must be satisfied”.
The leaders gathered in kyiv have warned that “new and massive” sanctions will be imposed on the energy and banks of Russia if Putin does not accept the unconditional 30-day cease-fire in the air, in sea and on earth “.
Sir Keir told the BBC that “material progress” had been made at the meeting.
“We were able to collectively collect a much better position and a more unified position today which maintains a better perspective of a ceasefire,” he said.
“You have unity in demand, but also unity in the answer if the request is not satisfied. We have not seen this kind of unity during this conflict.”
“I’m not going to claim that it is the end of the process, but it is an important moment that we must now continue and make sure that it happens,” he added.
The additional coordination of sanctions against Russian oil, fossil fuels and other assets would make a “material difference,” said the Prime Minister.
The Kremlin reacted to the proposal by accusing European leaders of making “contradictory” and “generally conflicting” remarks on Russia.
Press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that Ukraine’s allies must stop sending weapons to Ukraine before a cease -fire can happen – something that European leaders have rejected – before later saying that Russia is examining the proposal.
“We have to think about it. This is a new development,” said the Russian news agency managed by the state, Tass, said Peskov.
The kyiv meeting was a symbolic exhibition of support for Ukraine one day after more than 20 world leaders joined Putin in Moscow for the parade of the victory day of the Second World War in Russia.
The massive military parade took place in the Red Square of Moscow to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 with leaders such as Xi Jinping in China, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, and Prime Minister Robert Fico de Slovakia, member of the EU, presenting.
“It was an extremely important symbolic day here in kyiv because there was a propaganda exercise in Moscow yesterday,” Sir Keir told the BBC.
“80 years after the day, it was really important that we are here today … to demonstrate that the values that supported what was happening 80 years ago are the same values now”.
When asked if he felt “frightened by the state of the world” like others in Great Britain-given the conflicts in the Middle East and in India-Pakistan-Sir Keir said “We live in a more uncertain world and we are in another era of defense and security”.
But he said that it hadn’t stood him up at night “because it is really important that I focus on what I can do – gather people, do important steps today, assuring us that we are preparing with Ukraine to what could happen next”.
The so-called “Coalition of the Willing” was created by the United Kingdom and France to strengthen any possible peace agreement with security guarantees, including the presence of peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
