The United Kingdom is ready to 'increase the pressure' on Russia on its continuous war against Ukraine, says Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, will welcome the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Downing Street while Europe prepares for the result of a summit between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the end of this week.
The conversations in London occur on Thursday after Starmer said that Great Britain was ready to “increase the pressure” in Moscow if necessary, which suggests that the United Kingdom could impose new sanctions if Russia continues to reject a high fire in its war against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Trump warned Russia of “serious consequences” if he refuses to stop his military campaign. Speaking after a call with Trump and European allies on Wednesday, Starmer praised the United States leader to help create what he described as an “viable” opening to end war.
“This meeting on Friday attended by President Trump is very important,” Starmer told reporters.
“As I have personally said to President Trump during the three and a little years, this conflict has been happening, we have not had anywhere near a possibility of a viable solution, a viable way to take it to a stop the fire. And now we have that opportunity, due to the work that the president has put on,” Starmer added.
Zelenskyy will meet with Starmer at 9:30 am local time (08:30 GMT) at the official residence of the British Prime Minister, 10 Downing Street.
The Trump-Poutin meeting, which will take place in Alaska on Friday, has worried in kyiv for the exclusion of Zelenskyy. Starmer and other European leaders have repeatedly insisted that Ukraine must be part of any conversation about their future.
When asked if he had deliberately left Zelenskyy from Alaska's meeting, Trump replied: “No, quite the opposite,” and added that a second meeting with the Ukrainian leader could continue.
“We had a very good call, I was on the call, President Zelenskyy was in the call. He would describe him from 10, you know, very, very friendly,” Trump said. “There is a very good possibility that we have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first.”
The president of the United States has previously presented the idea of a territorial “exchange” as part of a truce. It is believed that Putin is demanding that Ukraine deliver the remaining parts of the Donbas region that he still has, a proposal that Zelenskyy has already rejected, emphasizing that the Constitution of Ukraine prohibits delivering territory.
In a joint statement, the so -called coalition of The Willing, co -presided by Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, warned that “international borders should not be changed by force.” The group also said that sanctions on Russia's war economy should be strengthened if Moscow rejects fire in Alaska.
