Sir Keir Starmer has hailed a breakthrough on Ukraine after US President Donald Trump committed to security guarantees during a summit on Monday 18th July.
The summit also saw moves towards a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The leaders’ summit was attended by the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the UK, alongside the President of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
According to the BBC, European officials were concerned the summit risked alienating President Trump if he sensed Zelenskyy was not committed to a peace process led by the US.
However, before leaving Washington, Starmer said there was “a real sense of unity” between the leaders present, telling the BBC he was “very pleased” with the outcomes.
He said that the summit should “reassure people in Europe, in Ukraine, but particularly in the United Kingdom”, arguing that significant progress has been made.
While Trump dismissed calls for a pre-negotiation ceasefire, despite both Merz and Macron stressing its importance, progress was made on security guarantees, and on bilateral and trilateral meetings between Ukraine, Russia, and the US. Starmer said these meetings would help to achieve a “peace that is lasting and just”.
The summit was followed by a virtual meeting of the coalition of the willing – a group of European and Commonwealth allies supporting Ukrainian and seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict – on Tuesday (19th July) during which Starmer outlined plans for the coalition to meet with their US counterparts and prepare to deploy a “reassurance force” in the coming days if hostilities cease.
This seemingly confirms Trump’s suggestion to Fox News that despite Ukraine not becoming “a part of Nato”, European nations would have troops on the ground in Ukraine to act as a deterrent.
Other methods of putting pressure on Putin, such as sanctions, were also discussed in Tuesday’s meeting.
Going forward, the UK government seems focused on helping Ukraine into as strong a position as possible ahead of any peace negotiations.
The BBC noted that Monday’s summit helped this effort, with Trump not reiterating Putin’s demands for Ukrainian land or putting pressure on Zelenskyy to discuss such an emotive matter in front of the cameras.
This suggests a growing understanding in the White House that any discussions over territory will have to be treated carefully.
Starmer emphasised the importance of giving Ukraine sole control over questions of territory, stating: “No decision should be made about Ukraine without Ukraine”.
UK officials have also said that Trump’s commitment to “cast iron” security guarantees has given Zelenskyy greater flexibility in his approach to negotiations as Ukraine will now be protected by its allies.
Starmer has consistently said that any deal to end the war in Ukraine would require a strong US “backstop”.
While details about what the US forces will offer remain scarce, UK military officials including chief of defence staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, are travelling to the US for more detailed discussions about the US’s involvement in security guarantees.
It remains unclear what Moscow’s next steps will be. According to one individual, Putin might retreat from the pathway to peace created over the past few days. However, with the progress of Trump’s public commitment to security guarantees, they hope that in such a scenario, the US would back Europe rather than Russia.
Featured image via Simon Dawson / No 10.
