The leaders of around 25 countries in a “coalition of the willing” have agreed to step up pressure on Russia to back a ceasefire in Ukraine, but UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer admitted the US was still not prepared to provide a military “backstop” to ensure it lasts.
On Saturday Starmer hosted a video meeting at which the group of mainly European countries agreed to step up military support for Ukraine and to increase sanctions on Moscow to force Russian President Vladimir Putin into serious peace talks.
“A position of ‘Yes, but . . . ’ isn’t good enough,” Starmer said.
Speaking in Downing Street, Starmer also confirmed that the group of countries would “double down and increase sanctions” on Russia, including looking at the option of seizing Russian assets to intensify pressure on Putin.
But Starmer declined to say which countries had committed to send troops to Ukraine to secure a peace deal and admitted that US President Donald Trump was still refusing to offer a security backstop.
“The position of the US has not changed,” Starmer said. “We have been clear this has to be done in conjunction with the US.” He said Britain was speaking to the US on a daily basis.
Starmer launched what he called a coalition of the willing at a summit in London two weeks ago, with the assembled countries considering varying levels of support for Ukraine.
Most of the countries on Saturday’s call were from Europe, but the participants also included Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The EU and Nato were represented and Starmer said that Japan, which was not on the call, had offered “backing”.
Britain and France are the only countries so far to have firmly committed to send troops to Ukraine to help guarantee a peace deal, although others are open to the idea. Some have offered financial or logistical support.
“My feeling is that sooner or later Putin is going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussions,” Starmer said at the start of the video call on Saturday, adding that the “ball is in his court”.
“But — and this is a big but for us this morning in our meeting — we can’t sit back and simply wait for that to happen. We have to keep pushing ahead, pushing forward and preparing for peace.”
Starmer told the meeting it was time for less talk and more “concrete commitments” and he claimed at a press conference after the talks that progress had been made in a number of areas.
The leaders agreed to make preparations for a force to be sent to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement to act as a “robust” guarantee, with talks at a military level due to be held in London on Thursday.
Starmer said the leaders had agreed to increase financial and military support for Ukraine in the short term but also in the longer term, to help Kyiv provide its own security guarantees.
He stressed the need for US backing for any peacekeeping operation, saying the risk was that “we will repeat the experience of recent years and Russia will breach the line again”.
He also confirmed that the leaders discussed beefing up sanctions if Putin does not agree to a ceasefire. Downing Street said that seizing more than €200bn of frozen Russia assets was being considered.
Number 10 conceded that seizing Russian assets — as opposed to using interest accruing from them to support Ukraine, as it currently does — was “a complex situation”.
Starmer said in a statement after Saturday’s meeting that the leaders would “continue to explore all lawful routes to ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has done to Ukraine”.
France and Germany, which have long opposed a full-blown seizure of assets held in the EU, are warming to the idea and are discussing with the UK and others ways in which they could be used as part of a negotiation to end the war.
Britain and France have offered to put troops on the ground to help secure the peace — but only if a proposed initial 30-day ceasefire holds — while other countries are much more reluctant to commit direct military support.
Starmer told the meeting that the “coalition of the willing” had to help “monitor a ceasefire” during a proposed 30-day truce. That would initially involve satellites and surveillance rather than the deployment of troops to Ukraine, UK officials said.
Countries including Germany and Poland have reservations about sending troops to Ukraine. The office of Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, said Italian participation in a “possible military force on the ground was not envisaged”.
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, said the ball was in Putin’s court. “In the meantime, we will support strengthening Ukraine and its armed forces,” she said.
“We will step up Europe’s defence efforts through ReArm Europe,” she added, referring to new Brussels initiatives aimed at increasing national defence spending.
Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in Rome and Henry Foy in Brussels
