A summit of European and world leaders on Ukraine was held at the Lancaster House estate in London on March 2. They discussed the defense of the state and all of Europe from Russia under the new US political course.
Representatives from the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Canada, Turkey, Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Romania gathered in the British capital. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also arrived.
The officials were met by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Before the summit, Volodymyr Zelensky met with the head of the Italian government Giorgia Meloni, where the politicians discussed a joint action plan to end the war in Ukraine and establish a "sustainable peace".
The leaders of the countries held a closed-door meeting, and Starmer later gave a press conference. He reported that the allies had decided to continue military assistance to Ukraine and increase economic pressure on Russia. The countries will insist that Kyiv be present at the negotiating table.
The official also confirmed plans to assemble a coalition to ensure the effectiveness of any peace deal, where London would play a leading role. Starmer announced Europeʼs participation in the peace process, including peacekeepers on the territory of Ukraine.
"We will continue to build a coalition of those willing to protect the [peace] agreement in Ukraine and secure peace. Not every country will be able to contribute, but that does not mean we will sit idly by. The UK stands ready, together with others, to support this [agreement] with boots on the ground and planes in the sky," Starmer said.
The politician announced £1.6 billion for anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, on top of the previously announced £2.2 billion. This is expected to allow Kyiv to purchase more than 5 000 anti-aircraft missiles manufactured in Belfast, as well as create new jobs within the defense sector.
"This will be vital to protect critical infrastructure and strengthen Ukraine to secure peace when it comes — because we must learn from the mistakes of the past. We cannot accept a weak deal like the Minsk agreements, which Russia can easily break," Starmer said.
He did not specify which states would like to join the coalition that will work with Ukraine on a ceasefire plan. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is convinced that after the end of hostilities, Kyiv must be provided with a strong army — this is the main task for international partners.
Europeʼs participation in the settlement of the war in Ukraine
After US President Donald Trump reported that during a phone call with Putin they agreed to immediately begin peace talks, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Poland, Germany, and the European Union stressed in a statement that Ukraine and Europe must be part of any negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The Axios publication, which revealed the details of the conversation between Zelensky and Trump, noted that the US president supported the idea of deploying European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine — this could become one of the security guarantees.
After that, the AP wrote that a group of European countries were privately working on a plan to send troops to Ukraine to help with post-war security.
The FT noted that the US has asked European countries to provide detailed proposals for the weapons, peacekeeping troops and security measures they could provide to Ukraine as part of any security guarantees.
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