Keir Starmer gathered leaders in London for crisis talks on Ukraine after Donald Trump plunged peace talks into chaos with his Oval Office tantrum at Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky
Donald Trump loomed over today’s summit of European leaders like a toxic cloud.
The wildly unpredictable US President plunged peace talks into chaos with his Oval Office meltdown at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Keir Starmer gathered leaders in London as Europe scrambles to salvage something from the wreckage.
The summit was designed to show Europe united in its support for Kyiv and to position the UK at the forefront of efforts to secure peace in Ukraine.
But without US backing, Ukraine and the rest of Europe are in uncharted waters.
Mr Starmer is trying to avoid choosing sides between America and Europe, rejecting claims that Trump’s US is an “unreliable ally” and underlining the importance of American support.
With Mr Trump’s demands ringing in his ears, Mr Starmer pointedly said that Europe needs to do the “heavy lifting”.
He said European countries would ramp up defence spending and form a “coalition of the willing” to defend peace in Ukraine.
And he reiterated his commitment to put British “boots on the ground and planes in the air”.
It isn’t clear yet which countries are signed up to this coalition, which will be critical for its success.
Mr Starmer was partly aiming his message at Washington as he still hopes to persuade Mr Trump to offer US firepower as a backstop to any peace deal.
But he was also talking to Europe, showing that after years of Brexit wrangling, the UK is back and can play a key leadership role.
The PM will attempt to draw on the goodwill he banked with Mr Trump in their warm White House visit in the coming weeks.
The UK’s intense diplomatic blitz allowed him to get on the phone to Mr Trump on Friday night and again on Saturday, seeking to bridge the divide between the President and Mr Zelensky.
But Mr Starmer has already played most of his trump cards with the US President.
And marshalling European leaders to make the first move without a guarantee of backing from Washington will be no mean feat.
