A deal to release up to £100 billion of frozen Russian assets in Europe to aid Ukraine is just days away, Downing Street believes, after Sir Keir Starmer and allies held crunch talks in London yesterday.
The prime minister said talks about the future of Ukraine have reached a “critical stage”, while European leaders agreed that pressure on Vladimir Putin must be ramped up.
Sir Keir met with French president Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and German chancellor Friedrich Merz at No 10 Downing Street on Monday as Mr Zelensky warned that Kyiv “can’t manage” without European and American backing.
It came after British officials said they were hopeful a deal would be agreed to unlock the value of immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the coming days.
The Times reported that the value of the assets will be up to £100bn, including around £8bn held in UK bank accounts.
A No 10 readout of the private talks between the leaders said they “discussed the importance of the US-led peace talks for European security and supported the progress made”.
“The leaders agreed that, while diplomatic efforts continue, Europe must stand with Ukraine, strengthening its ability to defend against relentless attacks that have left thousands without heat or light,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“They also discussed positive progress made to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction.”
The Ukrainian president’s visit to London came as US president Donald Trump accused him of having failed to read the latest peace plan, while insisting Putin was “fine with it.”
After the talks, Sir Keir convened a call with other European allies, during which leaders agreed that “now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war”, No 10 said.
Sir Keir has previously said the UK is “ready” to move with the EU on the proposals but Belgium has voiced concerns about using the assets to help Kyiv with reparations, citing financial and legal risks.
Mr Zelensky said Monday’s talks had been “a detailed discussion on our joint diplomatic work with the American side, aligned a shared position on the importance of security guarantees and reconstruction, and agreed on the next steps”.
“We also held a separate discussion on further defence support for Ukraine. I am grateful to the leaders for their willingness to stand with our people and help us on the path toward bringing peace closer,” he said in a post on social media.
Before the meeting began, Mr Zelensky had said that the issues under discussion were “very important for unity between Europe and Ukraine, and also unity between Europe and Ukraine and the United States”.
“We can’t manage without Americans, we can’t manage without Europe and that is why we need to make some important decisions,” he said.
Mr Macron, meanwhile, said Ukraine’s allies have “a lot of cards”, pointing to the funding of equipment and arms for Ukraine, the Ukrainian resistance and the economic impact of sanctions imposed by the US and Europe on Russia as positive signs.
Sir Keir said any ceasefire in Ukraine must be “just” and “lasting”, telling the other leaders: “We are at a critical stage in the push for peace.
“The principles remain the same: we stand with Ukraine, and if there is to be a ceasefire, it needs to be a just and lasting ceasefire.”
Mr Zelensky’s visit to London comes after his officials concluded three days of talks with their US counterparts on those proposals as the White House presses Kyiv to accept a deal.
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian leader said he had discussed “next steps” with Mr Trump’s advisers and was “determined to keep working in good faith”.
But the negotiators also acknowledged that any “real progress” will depend “on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace”.
Ukraine and its European allies are likely to insist that any ceasefire comes with security guarantees from both the US and the coalition of the willing convened by the UK and France, while also resisting the transfer of territory to Russia.
Sir Keir has repeatedly said that Ukraine must be allowed to determine its own future, while one of his senior ministers said on Sunday that the country must not be left “toothless” in the face of Russian aggression.
But Russia has repeatedly rejected the prospect of allied troops being stationed in Ukraine and continues to demand large swathes of Ukrainian territory in exchange for peace.
