Sir Keir Starmer has said allies must “make sure” there is “fair” and “just” peace in Ukraine as he travelled to Washington to support Volodymyr Zelensky in crunch talks with Donald Trump.
The Prime Minister and other European leaders will seek to persuade the US president not to push for a settlement which rewards Vladimir Putin’s aggression, but also secures US security guarantees for any military peacekeeping force from the so-called “coalition of the willing”.
The meeting will come after Donald Trump suggested the Ukrainian president would have to accept there was “no getting back” Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, and that Ukraine would not be allowed to join the Nato alliance.
In a video posted on X, Sir Keir said of the conflict: “Everybody wants it to end, not least the Ukrainians.
“But we’ve got to get this right. We’ve got to make sure there is peace, that it is is lasting peace and that it is fair and that it is just.
“That’s why I’m travelling to Washington with other European leaders to discuss this face to face with President Trump and President Zelensky, because it’s in everyone’s interests, it’s in the UK’s interests that we get this right.”
The Prime Minister will be joined by French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni and Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland.
Nato chief Mark Rutte and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are also attending.
In a message on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said President Zelensky “can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight”.
He said there would be “no going into Nato by Ukraine” – keeping its neighbour out of the alliance and its mutual defence pact has been one of Russia’s key aims.
But Sir Keir, along with other Nato leaders, has said Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to membership of the security alliance.
“Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine’s pathway to the EU or Nato,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Monday.
Asked if Mr Trump could have a veto, the spokesman repeated that “our position on Ukraine and Nato hasn’t changed” and that Ukraine is on “irreversible path” to membership.
He said No 10 is working “hand in glove” with Mr Trump on Ukraine, when asked if Sir Keir was confident the US leader would not try to veto membership.
The security guarantees the US has signalled it is willing to provide will be an “important aspect of the discussions” at the White House today, he said.
Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff has suggested that measures similar to Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence provision could be offered by the US without Kyiv joining the alliance.
Mr Witkoff, who took part in the talks between Mr Trump and Russian president Mr Putin last week, said it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that” and called it “game-changing”.
“We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in Nato,” Mr Witkoff told CNN.
Mr Zelensky said any peace deal must be lasting “not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East – part of Donbas – and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack”.
He said: “Russia must end this war, which it itself started. And I hope that our joint strength with America, with our European friends, will force Russia into a real peace.”
Mr Trump has appeared to drop his calls for a ceasefire after a summit in Alaska with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Mr Putin has long refused to agree to a ceasefire as a precondition for talks to end the war, prompting fears that Russia could continue gaining ground in Ukraine as negotiations take place.
No 10 appeared to suggest that Sir Keir could back a peace deal without a ceasefire.
“We want to see an end to the killing. If you can bring about an end to the killing and bring about a sustained peace in one go, then all the better,” his spokesman said.
But Ukraine must determine whether it wants to cede land to secure a deal, he said, stressing that “international borders must not be changed by force”.
At the White House, Mr Zelensky is expecting to face calls from the US president to concede to full Russian control of Donetsk and Luhansk, two mineral-rich regions of Ukraine that are mostly occupied by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
In exchange for these demands, the Russian president would reportedly withdraw his forces from other areas of Ukraine and accept the Nato-like guarantee designed to prevent him launching further incursions.
Ahead of their Oval Office encounter, the allies are likely to be mindful of the previous occasion Mr Zelensky visited Mr Trump in the White House.
February’s public spat, which saw US vice-president JD Vance accuse Mr Zelensky of not being thankful enough to the US, resulted in American aid to Ukraine being temporarily halted.
Mr Trump will again host Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office before a separate meeting with the European leaders.
Russia continued to carry out “demonstrative and cynical” strikes ahead of the meeting, the Ukrainian leader said.
Mr Zelensky posted on X: “Putin will commit demonstrative killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe, as well as to humiliate diplomatic efforts.
“That is precisely why we are seeking assistance to put an end to the killings. That is why reliable security guarantees are required. That is why Russia should not be rewarded for its participation in this war.”
