U.K., France to work with Ukraine on ceasefire plan to present to U.S., Starmer says
CBC
Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer opened the meeting Sunday by saying they have a "once in a generation moment" to step up for the security of Europe.
"Even while Russia talks about peace, they are continuing their relentless aggression," Starmer said.
Starmer, flanked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, said the three of them had agreed to work on a plan to stop the fighting in Ukraine, and take that to the U.S., which has discussed brokering a peace deal.
The U.K. leader said he's focused on being a bridge to restore peace talks, whose collapse he used as an opportunity to re-engage with U.S. President Donald Trump, Zelenskyy and Macron rather than "ramp up the rhetoric."
Zelenskyy's presence comes two days after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood. Their meeting broke down in dramatic fashion as Trump scolded Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for U.S. support and the two argued over a proposed deal that would grant the U.S. access to rare Ukrainian minerals in exchange for ongoing military support in the war against Russia.
Zelenskyy arrived after several of his peers, including Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte were also present.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, is raising the prospect that Zelenskyy may need to leave office if a peace deal is to be reached.
"Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude or someone else needs to lead the country to do that," the Louisiana Republican told NBC's Meet the Press.
Johnson said "it's up to the Ukrainians to figure that out." He added that under Trump, the United States is "reasserting peace through strength."
The idea of Zelenskyy stepping aside had come up Friday after the Oval Office meeting. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told reporters outside the White House that Zelenskyy "either needs to resign or send somebody over that we can do business with or he needs to change."
Macron says Russia must be stopped or it's likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine further west.
Macron told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper ahead of the summit that Russian President Vladimir Putin's ambitions pose an existential threat to Europe.
"We have an over-armed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe," Macron said. If Putin is not stopped, Macron said, "he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania."
