British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said in an online meeting with world leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin must stop attacks against Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire.
Speaking to 25 leaders, mostly European, at a virtual summit on March 15, Starmer called on them to keep up the pressure on Moscow and said they must be prepared to uphold the ceasefire agreement with their own forces.
"If Putin is serious about peace, it's very simple, he must end his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire," Starmer said via video link, which was also attended by the leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but not the United States.
"We must move forward and prepare for peace, and for a peace that will be guaranteed and will last," he said.
As Russia, the United States and Ukraine analyze US President Donald Trump's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, Starmer is expected to seek concrete proposals for logistical, financial and military assistance to Kiev, in this meeting that he has described as a "coalition of the willing."
In a statement released before the meeting, Starmer accused President Putin of trying to delay the ceasefire decision, presenting "meaningless conditions" and calling for "study before the ceasefire is implemented."
Britain, France and other countries have said they will send peacekeeping forces to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached. Starmer has called on Washington to provide security guarantees for these forces in an attempt to deter Russian attacks.
"If Russia comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor the ceasefire, to ensure it is serious and delivers peace," Starmer said in a statement. "If it does not, then we must increase economic pressure to ensure that Russia ends the war."
After a discussion with the British Prime Minister on March 14, French President Emmanuel Macron also said that Russia should accept the ceasefire agreement.
Ukraine agreed to the ceasefire agreement on March 11, at a meeting between senior American and Ukrainian officials held in Saudi Arabia.
Later, Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, discussed the deal with Putin in Moscow.
On March 13, Putin said that Russia agrees with the idea of a ceasefire, but added that "there are nuances" that should "lead to long-term peace, and eliminate the roots that have fueled this crisis."
He said issues need to be addressed about what is happening in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have lost territory in the last week after a surprise incursion that began in late August last year, and who should monitor the ceasefire.
Russia has said that the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine is unacceptable.
In addition, Putin's mention of the "root of the problem" has suggested that Russia may be seeking an agreement that provides for Ukrainian neutrality and a reduction in the Ukrainian military.
Russia launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022, after annexing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and starting the conflict in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.
Trump has made ending this war a priority.
He spoke with Putin a few weeks after taking office, and then sent senior American officials to Saudi Arabia to meet with their Russian counterparts./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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