Starmer emphasizes Europe’s key role in supporting Ukraine and mobilizes a group of cooperative European leaders to collaborate on a peace initiative, aiming to prevent the United States from turning its back on Europe.

Keir Starmer emphasized the importance of Europe being prepared to take on more responsibility in light of the challenges stemming from the fallout between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Following a critical meeting in London, the Prime Minister highlighted that the world is currently facing a pivotal moment in history and expressed his desire to establish a path forward that could be shared with the US.

Presenting himself as a mediator with the US administration, Sir Keir conveyed during a press briefing that he continues to view America as a dependable partner. He underscored the shared belief with the president in the pressing necessity for enduring peace and emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts moving forward.

However, he stressed that any deal must have ‘strong US backing’ with ‘every nation contributing in the best way it can’.  

The comments came after European leaders spent hours trying to thrash out a strategy after the grim scenes in the Oval Office on Friday night.

After embracing Mr Zelensky on the steps of Lancaster House in London, the PM told him ‘we are all with you’ and urged the gathering to step up to a ‘once in a generation moment’.

Emmanuel Macron and Giorgia Meloni were present as Britain, France and Italy look set to take key roles in a ‘coalition of the willing’ to enforce any peace deal with Russia. The UK and Paris have both pledged to provide troops on the ground if necessary.

But there still appear to be huge obstacles – not least that Russia has yet to agree to beginning talks with Ukraine, and the US envisages formal ceding of territory while many European states regard that as unacceptable. 

The summit was already planned before the on-camera slanging match with Mr Trump and his vice president JD Vance.

On another frantic day of diplomacy: 

• The UK’s ambassador to Washington, Lord Mandelson has warned Mr Zelensky should ‘commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow’, despite concerns that Vladimir Putin will simply use a pause to re-arm and try again.  
• Sir Keir has insisted Europe must recognise the ‘brutal reality’ of the US pulling back from military guarantees and ramp up defence spending. 
• The PM announced a deal that will allow Ukraine to use £1.6billion of export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles, to be made in Belfast.
• Mr Trump is said to be demanding a public apology from the Ukrainian president amid threats to pull the plug on US military support. 
• In a sign he is keen to mend fences with the US, Mr Zelensky has described the president’s support for Ukraine as ‘crucial’.
• The Kremlin has been trolling the woes of Nato by jibing that US policy now ‘largely coincides with our vision’. 

There have been calls for Mr Trump’s invite for an unprecedented state visit to the UK to be withdrawn, although No10 is adamant that will not happen. Sir Keir said this morning that it was a ‘matter for the King’. 

Mr Zelensky and King Charles have been photographed side-by-side at Sandringham this evening. Both were smiling as they shook hands and posed for pictures outside the royal estate, with Charles patting the Ukrainians’ arm.

A military helicopter carrying Zelensky was seen flying low and descending over Sandringham at around 5.25pm.

Local people, some holding Ukraine flags, gathered outside the estate to try to witness the arrival of Mr Zelensky in Norfolk for his meeting with the King.

‘The president was warmly received, and the meeting lasted just under an hour’, the Palace said after the meeting. 

A helicopter could be seen departing the Sandringham estate in Norfolk at 6.35pm, following the meeting between the King and Mr Zelensky.

In what amounted to a plea to Mr Trump, Sir Keir said today the US was a ‘reliable ally’ and the plan he wanted to develop ‘will work with the US and will have US backing’.

‘To support peace in our continent, and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing,’ he said.

‘We’re working with the US on this point after my meeting with President Trump last week, and let me be clear, we agree with the President on the urgent need for a durable peace, now we need to deliver together.

‘Finally, we agreed that leaders will meet again very soon, to keep the pace behind these actions and to keep working towards this shared plan.

‘We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. It’s time to act. Time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.’

Asked at the press conference whether there is now a real prospect of Britain being at war with Russia, Sir Keir said: ‘The reason I’ve been forward-leaning on this is because I want to avoid conflict, because I do not want conflict in Ukraine, in Europe… I want stability in the United Kingdom.

‘The way to ensure that stability is to ensure that we are able to defend a deal in Ukraine, because the one thing our history tells us is that if there is conflict in Europe, it will wash up on our shores.

‘Already, in the last three years, what’s happened in Ukraine has had a massive impact on many working people back here in the United Kingdom because their bills have gone up, their energy bills have gone up. There’s been an instability in our economy caused by that conflict, so we are not unaffected.’

The PM added: ‘Of course, our own security and defence depends on the defence and security of Europe. So every step I am taking is in order to preserve peace, to avoid conflict, because the safety and security of the British people is my number one duty and responsibility, and I take it very seriously.’

Kicking off the behind-closed doors talks at Lancaster House, Sir Keir told fellow leaders: ‘In my conversations in recent days, we agreed a group of us will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then discuss that with the US and take it forward together.’

Ukraine’s allies need to also continue their support in the moment, Sir Keir stressed. ‘Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression,’ he said.

Speaking to broadcasters outside Lancaster House, EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Ukraine must have the ‘means to fortify and protect itself’ in economic and military terms.

She added that ‘therefore the focus is not only on the military supply but also for example securing their energy system’.

She also revealed she will present ‘a comprehensive plan to rearm Europe’ on Thursday.

Giorgia Meloni said that in a ‘precious moment’ it is ‘very important to talk to each other, to co-ordinate’.

She said: ‘We are all very committed about a goal that we all want to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

‘I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk that the West divides. I think on this the UK and Italy can play an important role in bridge-building.’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that a focus for allies will be to ensure that Ukraine has a strong army when the war there is over so that it can defend itself against any future aggression.

‘The basis of everything will be a strong army,’ Scholz said.

The Chancellor added that a halt in fighting could be a starting point for potential peace talks for Ukraine.

‘It would be very helpful if the bombing were to stop…That would also be the starting point for talks that can then continue,’ Scholz told journalists after a meeting of European leaders in London.

Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that no one in the West has any intention of capitulating to Putin’s ‘blackmail and aggression.’

‘The best way to discourage Putin and other aggressors is to build our own strength, and the best way to convince President Trump to want to strengthen cooperation with Europe, and not weaken it, is our European strength. Everyone will want to work with a strong partner,’ Tusk told Polish reporters.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country had ‘an important role to play’ after attending the summit with other leaders. 

‘Canada has been one of the strongest countries in support of Ukraine from the very beginning, for over 10 years now we’ve been training Ukrainian defence forces,’ Mr Trudeau said.

He added: ‘We’re going to continue to be there to support Ukraine as necessary with whatever it takes for as long as it takes.

‘Ukraine is not just defending its own territories, it is defending the very principles and values that underpin all of our democracies.’

Mr Trudeau also said that Canada will ‘continue to be there’ for Ukraine. He also did not rule out putting Canadian boots on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force, saying: ‘Everything is on the table.’

European leaders have been voicing solidarity with Mr Zelensky, who was warmly embraced by Sir Keir in Downing Street last night, as they try to find a way of repairing relations. 

In an interview earlier this morning, the PM said he ‘trusted’ the US president and believed he wants a ‘lasting peace’.

Sir Keir said he was trying to act as a ‘bridge’ to resolve the differences and had ‘hit the phones’ in the wake of the extraordinary bust-up in Washington. 

He told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that powers including France had now agreed to work together with Ukraine to draw up a potential peace deal with Russia, which would be presented to America. 

Sir Keir suggested that ‘a coalition of the willing’ would have to guarantee any settlement on the ground, hinting that hopes of the US providing a security backstop have dwindled. 

They are also racing to fill the potential gap in European defences from the abrupt withdrawal of the world’s largest military and economic power. 

Sir Keir said he was ‘rolling up my sleeves’ rather than ‘ramping up the rhetoric’ in response to the scenes in Washington.

‘I was in my office, and nobody wants to see that. Later that day, I then picked up the phone to President Trump, and I picked up the phone to President Zelensky, because, to my mind, focus has to be a lasting peace in Ukraine,’ he said.

He added: ‘Look, nobody wants to see that. Clearly, you know, there’s a lot of tension. The cameras were on.’

Sir Keir continued: ‘My driving purpose has been to to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus. And as a result of the meeting yesterday, we had quite a long time with President Zelensky, then President Macron and President Trump on the phone.

‘We’ve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States.’

The PM said he ‘felt uncomfortable’ watching the Oval Office footage but added: ‘The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not.

‘The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards.

‘Because my reaction was we have to bridge this. We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we’ve had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.’

Of Mr Trump, the premier added: ‘I am clear in my mind that he does want a lasting peace.’

Sir Keir said: ‘What I am clear about is that if there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then Putin comes again.

‘That has happened in the past, I think it is a real risk, and that is why we must ensure that if there’s a deal it is a lasting deal, not a temporary pause.’

A security guarantee from the Americans is the subject of ‘intense’ discussion, Sir Keir said.

He added: ‘For me, the components of a lasting peace are a strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength; to negotiate a European element to security guarantees, and that’s why I’ve been forward-leaning on this about what we would do; and a US backstop.

‘That’s the package, all three parts need to be in place, and that’s what I’m working hard to bring together.’

Pressed on why trusts Mr Trump, he said: ‘Because I’ve spoken to him a number of times. I’ve got to know him. I’ve had extensive discussions with him and I believe his motivation is lasting peace.’

He added: ‘If the central question you’re putting to me is do I trust Donald Trump when he says he wants lasting peace? The answer to that question is yes.

‘But, also, take a step back, the relationship between the US and the UK is the closest relationship of any two countries in the world, our defence, our security, our intelligence, are bound up one with another in a way that is not seen anywhere else in the world.’

Asked if he would trust Vladimir Putin, he said: ‘Well, no, I wouldn’t trust Putin, which is why I want a security guarantee.

‘I wouldn’t trust him not to come again, because he’s proven that he will come again. He’s already done it and we know what his ambitions are.’

Lord Mandelson told the ABC news channel that Mr Zelensky must ‘give his unequivocal backing to the initiative that President is taking, to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine’.

‘I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow,’ he said.

Sir Keir is positioning himself as a bridge between Europe and Mr Trump after his successful visit to the White House last week.

Sir Keir pledged this week to raise the UK’s defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, slashing the aid budget to free up the funding. 

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also expected to cut £5billion from welfare and allow the £28billion national wealth fund to be invested in defence projects.

The summit comes after several days that saw the foundations of the Nato alliance – that has helped avoid world war for 80 years – shaken.

The clash between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office was broadcast around the world on Friday, with the US President accusing his counterpart of ‘gambling with World War Three’ after Russia invaded.

It resulted in Ukraine’s president being kicked out of the White House and a deal to exchange mineral rights for further US military support put on ice.

Mr Trump said he would not be welcome until he was willing to talk about ‘peace’. 

Reports in the US media suggested Mr Trump was even considering halting all aid to Kyiv after the meeting.

European leaders have rallied in a show of solidarity with Ukraine, while Sir Keir has repeatedly spoken to both presidents over the phone.

The PM welcomed Mr Zelensky to Downing Street yesterday in a meeting described as ‘meaningful and warm’ by the Ukrainian leader.

The two men embraced as they met, and again later as they parted, and Sir Keir took the unusual step of walking Mr Zelensky to his car, instead of waving him goodbye from the front step of No10.

Ms Reeves has signed a loan agreement worth £2.26billion with her Ukrainian counterpart, to pay for further military support and the rebuilding of Ukraine in future.

The UK hopes to recoup the costs from frozen Russian assets locked in bank accounts across Europe.

Mr Zelensky is expected to meet the King at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk this evening after attending the summit.

The embattled Ukrainian leader meets Charles days after Mr Trump was offered an unprecedented second state visit to the UK as part of a charm offensive aimed at winning the US president’s support.

Sir Keir spoke to Mr Trump last night for the second evening in a row, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, as he seeks to be a bridge across the Atlantic and smooth out the ongoing division between Western allies.

Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, told the BBC he urged Mr Zelensky to repair his relationship with the US president in a Friday-night phone call, as the alliance’s members ‘need to stick together’ against Russia.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned in a Telegraph newspaper article that America’s commitment to Europe ‘cannot now be taken for granted’, after urging Sir Keir to push for ‘concrete’ pledges during the summit.