Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, Keir Starmer has warned Donald Trump ahead of his meeting with the Russian president on Friday.
The United States President said on Monday he would be telling his Russian counterpart “you gotta end this war [in Ukraine]” during the crunch negotiations on Friday.
Ahead of the talks, No 10 warned “you’d never trust President Putin” while stressing Ukraine must have the final say on any peace proposal.
During a press conference on Monday Trump said he would be speaking to Zelensky and European leaders ahead of his Friday summit with Putin to “get everyone’s ideas” and go into the meeting “fully loaded”.
The i Paper understands that there is likely to be a joint call between Trump, Starmer, and European leaders, which could take place on Wednesday, although details are being finalised.
Jonathan Powell, the Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser, is also expected to hold talks with his interim US counterpart, Marco Rubio ahead of the Alaska summit.
In a likely preview of Starmer’s message to Trump, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters on Monday: “Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine.”
He added: “We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.
“But it is exactly why we’ve been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, re-strengthen, and then go again.
“So we’re not going to leave it to trust. We’re going to ensure that we’re prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire.”
At a White House press conference Trump confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would not be invited to the Alaska discussions – but would take part in the “next meeting” with Putin, which could also include the US President or be a bilateral between just Putin and Zelensky.
But Trump also continued to talk about “swapping” land controlled by Ukraine and Russia as part of a peace solution, which is opposed by Zelensky.
He also suggested that Putin may have to give up some of the “prime” territory he has taken from Ukraine.
“Russia’s occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They occupied prime territory. We’re going to try to get some of that territory back for Ukraine,” he said.
Zelensky on Monday signalled to European leaders he could agree to stop fighting and cede territory already controlled by Russia to Putin – but not new territory, the Daily Telegraph reported.
In his evening address he said here were no signs that Russia was preparing to put an end to its hostilities in Ukraine.
“On the contrary, they are moving their troops and forces in such a way as to launch new offensive operations,”
Coalition of the willing
Planning for Starmer’s so-called coalition of the willing, which would involve a European-led peacekeeping force sent to Ukraine to monitor any future truce, began in March.
Downing Street said “operational planning continues at a military level” despite no talks between leaders planned for this week, but indicated that there was little left to finalise.
Military planners have continued work on a force to help Ukraine regenerate its land forces, to police Ukraine’s skies, and to secure maritime access at Black Sea ports, during “business as usual” conversations since Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to create a coalition headquarters in Paris last month.
Asked by The i Paper whether work relating to the coalition had been put on hold to keep the road clear for Washington-led mediation this week, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “No… if anything, the next step really is reaching that ceasefire, such that we’re then able to to implement the security guarantees.”
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