Keir Starmer warns Putin ‘the world is watching’ over peace deal

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Sir Keir Starmer has said military chiefs from his ‘coalition of the willing’ will meet in the UK next week as plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine move into an ‘operational phase’.

The prime minister earlier warned Vladimir Putin ‘the world is watching’ and told global leaders the Russian leader will have to come to the negotiating table ‘sooner or later’.

He told a press conference in Downing Street: ‘We agreed to accelerate our practical work to support a potential deal.

‘So, we will now move into an operational phase.

‘Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security.’

His comments came after a virtual meeting with 29 other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, at which Sir Keir said ‘new commitments’ had been made on peacekeeping and tightening sanctions on Russia.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy / ????????? ?????????? @ZelenskyyUa I addressed the meeting of European leaders stating that the path to peace must begin unconditionally. And if Russia doesn?t want this, then strong pressure must be applied until they do. Moscow understands one language.
His comments came after a virtual meeting with 29 other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Picture: X/@ZelenskyyUa)

He told a press conference in Downing Street: ‘The group that met this morning is a bigger group than we had two weeks ago, there is a stronger collective resolve and new commitments were put on the table this morning, both in relation to the coalition of the willing in terms of defending the deal, also in relation to the wider point, which is the collective defence and security of Europe.

‘So, more commitments on the table this morning and an agreement that we now move to the operational phase, which is why the talks on Thursday, the military talks, will become the next focal point.’

He did not elaborate on which nations had made concrete commitments to a peacekeeping force.

Asked about what action a peacekeeping force could take, he said this would be a subject of discussion between military chiefs on Thursday.

He said: ‘There are different capabilities from different countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going on in relation to what this coalition of the willing will be able to provide.’

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference following this morning's virtual summit video conference at 10 Downing Street on March 15, 2025 in London, England. The call with European and world leaders was held to discuss the future of a peace plan in Ukraine. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference following this morning’s virtual summit video conference at 10 Downing Street (Picture: Getty)

Among the other attendees at Saturday’s meeting were Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who had been reportedly considering not joining the call due to scepticism about Anglo-French peacekeeping proposals.

As well as European nations, the leaders of Australia, Canada and New Zealand also joined the call, as did Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.

Saturday’s meeting followed an intense week of diplomacy in which American officials put a US-Ukraine proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire to Russia.

But the Kremlin has so far resisted the proposal, saying it would only agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine also agreed to abandon its aim of joining Nato and gave up some of its territory to Russia.

Speaking from the Cabinet room in Number 10 on Saturday, Sir Keir told world leaders they could not ‘sit back and wait’ for a ceasefire in Ukraine, adding: ‘We have to keep pushing ahead, pushing forward and preparing for peace, and a peace that will be secure and that will last.’

He also accused Vladimir Putin of trying to ‘delay’ a ceasefire, adding: ‘Sooner or later he is going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussions.’

This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on March 12, 2025, shows a destroyed building at the site of a strike in Kryvyi Rig, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE OF UKRAINE" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Photo by HANDOUT/UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images)
A destroyed building at the site of a strike in Kryvyi Rig, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Picture: AFP)

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Putin’s first prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who now opposes the Russian president, said his former boss would not accept Nato or European troops being deployed to Ukraine, but might agree to soldiers from ‘friendly countries’ such as India and Brazil.

Following the meeting, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged the Prime Minister to seize Russian assets and use them to fund more support for Ukraine, saying this was ‘the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace’.

Asked about whether he had discussed seizing Russian assets with his counterparts, Sir Keir said it had been discussed, but added it was ‘a complicated question’.

Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine launched drone attacks overnight, each reporting more than 100 enemy drones entering their respective airspaces.

No casualties have been reported and both countries’ defence ministries claim to have shot down around 130 enemy drones.

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