Starmer announces 'coalition of the willing' to guarantee Ukraine peace

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and to defend it from Russia.

The UK, France and other countries in a "coalition of the willing" would step up their efforts and seek to involve the US in their support for Ukraine, he said.

"We are at a crossroads in history today," Starmer said after a summit of 18 leaders - mostly from Europe and including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It comes two days after a fiery exchange between the Ukrainian leader and US President Donald Trump in the White House.

Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Starmer said four points had been agreed:

• to keep military aid flowing into Ukraine, and to keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia
• that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security and Ukraine must be present at any peace talks
• in the event of a peace deal, to boost Ukraine's defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion
• to develop a "coalition of the willing" to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee peace afterwards

Sir Keir also announced an additional £1.6bn ($2bn) of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles. This comes on top of a £2.2bn loan to provide more military aid to Ukraine backed by profits from frozen Russian assets.

"We have to learn from the mistakes of the past, we cannot accept a weak deal... which Russia can breach with ease, instead any deal must be backed by strength," he said.

The prime minister did not state which countries had agreed to join this coalition of the willing, but said that those who had committed would intensify planning now, with real urgency.

The UK, he said, would back its commitment with "boots on the ground, and planes in the air".

"Europe must do the heavy lifting," he said, before adding that the agreement would need US backing and had to include Russia - but said that Moscow could not be allowed to dictate terms.

"Let me clear, we agree with Trump on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver together".

When asked if the US under President Trump was an unreliable ally, he said: "Nobody wanted to see what happened last Friday, but I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally."

Other countries which joined the summit included France, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Norway, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Finland, Italy, Spain and Canada.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that there was now an urgent need to "re-arm Europe".

Sunday's summit concludes a hectic week of diplomacy, which included visits to Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron, Sir Keir and Zelensky.

Zelensky's meeting, however, culminated in a heated exchanged with Trump and US Vice-President JD Vance, in which the US president accused his Ukrainian counterpart of "gambling with World War Three".

Trump says he wants to end the war in Ukraine and has expressed trust in the Russian President Vladimir Putin, to the consternation of many of his Western allies.

The US has also had a set of peace talks with Russia - excluding Ukraine.

At one point, the US leader accused Ukraine of starting the war - even though it was Putin who launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour on 24 February 2022.