Ukraine’s allies on Monday joined together to pile pressure on Russian President Putin, calling on him to show “without delay” he is willing to broker peace in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin must “get serious” about engaging in peace talks, David Lammy has warned.
Ukraine’s allies on Monday joined together to pile pressure on the Russian President, calling on him to show “without delay” he is willing to broker peace in Ukraine. The Foreign Secretary hailed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for his “willingness to engage in talks” ahead of a gathering of European foreign ministers in London.
Mr Lammy hosted his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and the EU, where they discussed the future of Ukraine and security in Europe after a weekend diplomatic blitz by world leaders.
After the meeting, Kyiv’s leading European allies said any talks between Mr Zelensky and Putin must be accompanied by a truce. It comes after the Ukrainian President called on his Russian counterpart to meet him face-to-face this Thursday in Turkey. But Russia has said there can be no preconditions for talks and bombarded Ukraine with more than 100 drones overnight.
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In a statement released after talks by the Weimar+ group of nations at Lancaster House in central London, the foreign ministers said Russia “has not shown any serious intent to make progress”.
In an effort to pile pressure on Putin, they added: “It must do so without delay. We joined Ukraine in calling for an immediate, full, unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create space for talks on a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.”
Peace will only last if “Ukraine is able to deter and defend against any future Russian attack”, they added. They also said Kyiv “should be confident in its ability to continue to resist successfully Russian aggression” with support from its allies.
Several European leaders at the London gathering indicated they wanted to see Russia stop its attacks on Ukraine before peace talks could begin in earnest between the two leaders. Mr Lammy earlier added: “This is the time for Vladimir Putin to get serious about peace in Europe, to get serious about a ceasefire, and to get serious about talks.”
Mr Starmer travelled to Kyiv on Saturday alongside his French, German and Polish counterparts for talks with Mr Zelensky about the coalition of the willing plans. Speaking at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital, the Prime Minister said that European allies “together with the US” are “calling Putin out”.
He urged him to accept the 30-day truce and vowed to ramp up sanctions further if he “turns his back on peace”.
Meanwhile Donald Trump, who is expected to be in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, floated making a detour to Turkey to join any potential talks between Ukraine and Russia.
The US president said on Sunday afternoon that Ukraine should agree to Mr Putin’s request for talks “immediately” and that he is “starting to doubt” whether Kyiv is willing to make a deal with Russia.
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