(Reuters)
May 18 – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine with leaders of the U.S., Italy, France and Germany, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
Looking ahead to U.S. President Donald Trump’s call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Monday, the leaders discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire in the war that Russia launched against its smaller neighbour more than three years ago.
They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia fails to engage seriously in ceasefire and peace talks, the spokesperson added.
The talks followed intense diplomacy by the leaders that started with their May 10 trip to Kyiv when the major European powers threw their weight behind an unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire.
“Tomorrow, President Putin must show he wants peace by accepting the 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by President Trump and backed by Ukraine and Europe,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on X after the Sunday call.
UK’s Foreign Minister David Lammy on Saturday accused Moscow of obfuscating after talks between Ukraine and Russia on a possible ceasefire ended in less than two hours and Trump said “nothing could happen” until he had met directly with Putin.
Russia – which is slowly but steadily advancing on the battlefield and is worried that Ukraine will use such a pause to regroup and re-arm – has said it needs to nail down the terms of a ceasefire before signing up to one.
