Europe comes up with Ukraine peace plan; one month truce suggested
Monday, 3 March 2025
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rallied his European counterparts to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine as he announced the outline of a plan to end Russia’s war.
Starmer said Europe must take responsibility for defending itself as world leaders met in London on Sunday (local time).
“Every nation must contribute to that in the best way that it can, bringing different capabilities and support to the table, but all taking responsibility to act, all stepping up their own share of the burden,' he said.
Before arriving in London, French president Emmanuel Macron suggested in an interview with a French newspaper that he and Starmer are proposing a “truce in the air, on the seas and energy infrastructures” that would last a month.
There would be no European troops in the coming weeks and troops would only be deployed on the ground at a later stage, he said.
The question, Macron said, is “how we use this time to try and get an accessible truce, with negotiations that will take several weeks and then, once peace is signed, a deployment.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told BBC Ukraine was ready to sign a deal granting the US access to Ukraine’s rare minerals.
Zeenskyy was expected to sign the deal in Washington before a heated confrontation with US President Donald Trump on live television at the White House two days ago, with Trump telling Zelenskyy he wasn’t grateful enough for America’s support.
Starmer said he had worked with France and Ukraine on a plan to end the war and that the group of leaders — mostly from Europe — had agreed on four things.
The steps toward peace would: keep aid flowing to Kyiv and maintain economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine's hand; make sure Ukraine is at the bargaining table and any peace deal must ensure its sovereignty and security; and continue to arm Ukraine to deter future invasion.
A ‘coalition of the willing’
Finally, Starmer said they would develop a “coalition of the willing” to defend Ukraine and guarantee the peace.
“Not every nation will feel able to contribute but that can’t mean that we sit back,' he said. “Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency. The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others.”
He said any plan would require strong US backing. He did not specify what that meant, though he told the BBC before the summit that there were “intense discussions” to get a security guarantee from the US.
“If there is to be a deal, if there is to be a stopping of the fighting, then that agreement has to be defended, because the worst of all outcomes is that there is a temporary pause and then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin comes again,” Starmer said.
Starmer said he will later bring a more formal plan to the US and work with Trump.
Two diplomatic steps forward, one back
Europe has been anxious since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago.
The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war.
Meetings last week had provided some hope — until Zelenskyy’s trip to the White House on Friday (local time).
Visits to the Oval Office by Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, who had declared his visit a “turning point,' were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine, though he would not commit to providing US security guarantees and maintained that Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops.
Within 12 hours of Starmer’s return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trump’s assertions that Putin could be trusted.
During his Sunday press conference, Starmer rejected the suggestion that the US was no longer a reliable ally.
“There are no two countries as closely aligned as our two countries and our defense, our security and intelligence is intertwined in a way no two other countries are, so it’s an important and reliable ally for us,” he said.
Starmer does not trust Putin
Starmer told the BBC before the summit that he does not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin but does trust Trump.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said she was sorry for what happened with Zelenskyy in Washington. Meloni is both a strong Ukraine supporter and — as head of a far-right party — she is a natural ally of Trump. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration.
She said told reporters following the meeting that Europe must remain focused on its common goals and that “dividing the West would be disastrous for everyone.”
“We need to work to reinforce our unity, and I think that Italy can play a role, not just in its own interest, but in everyone’s,' she said. “I don’t want to take any other scenario into consideration.”
Starmer hosted the meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace, following his charm offensive with Macron to persuade Trump to put Ukraine at the centre of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe.
Leaders from Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were at the summit. The Turkish foreign minister, the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council were also in attendance.
Turning Ukraine into a ‘steel porcupine’
Starmer used sweeping terms to describe the challenge ahead, saying Europe was at a crossroads in its history and needed to step up to meet “once in a generation moment.”
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen emerged from the meeting and said she would present a plan to “rearm Europe” to bolster the bloc’s security after a long period of underinvestment.
As for the future of war-torn Ukraine, von der Leyen said it needs security guarantees.
“We have to put Ukraine in a position of strength so that it has the means to fortify itself and to protect itself,” von der Leyen said. “It’s basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders.”
Last week, Starmer pledged to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to look after itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP.
“If we don’t increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions, we won’t end up well,” he said.
Starmer pledged to supply more arms to defend Ukraine, announcing that the UK will use £1.6 billion in export financing to supply 5000 air defence missiles.
US ramps up attacks on Zelenskyy
US President Donald Trump's senior aides and allies lashed out at the Ukrainian leader from Washington as he attended the European summit.
Following Trump's lead, White House officials and Republicans in Congress used news show appearances to demand that Zelenskyy display more gratitude for US support and an openness to potential war-ending concessions to Putin. Some suggested Zelenskyy should consider resigning even as Ukrainians rally around him.
But they offered little clarity as to what Zelenskyy and Ukraine could do after Friday's Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him before cancelling the signature of an economic agreement between Washington and Kyiv.
The dispute leaves the future of that relationship in question, as well as the prospects for ending a conflict that began when the Kremlin invaded in February 2022.
White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, who while in Congress went to Ukraine during the first year of the war to meet Zelenskyy and once compared him to wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, said Zelenskyy's behaviour at the White House was “incredibly disrespectful.”
Asked about that Churchill-Zelenskyy comparison, Waltz noted that Churchill was voted out of office in the final months of World War II.
Churchill “was a man for a moment, but he did not then transition England into the next phase,” Waltz said. “And it’s unclear whether President Zelenskyy, particularly after what we saw Friday, is ready to transition to Ukraine to an end to this war and to negotiate and have to compromise.”
Waltz said a negotiated end to the war would involve territorial concessions from Ukraine as well as “Russian concessions on security guarantees,' but he did not offer any more details about what Moscow would have to do.
House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed the suggestion that Zelenskyy may need to step aside.
“Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” Johnson said. 'I mean, it’s up to the Ukrainians to figure that out. But I can tell you that we are re-exerting peace through strength.”
Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said the contentious meeting has led to “a huge rift in the relationship” and she took issue with Zelenskyy telling Fox News afterward that he did not think he did anything wrong.
“There’s going to have to be a rebuilding of any kind of interest in good faith negotiations, I think, before President Trump is going to be willing to re-engage on this,” she said.