France, UK propose partial month-long ceasefire in Ukraine
European leaders rallied around kyiv at a summit in London and pledged to do more to protect the continent, while France and Britain proposed a month-long truce in Ukraine. This is a truce "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure," said French President Emmanuel Macron after the meeting.
The advantage of this truce is that "we can measure it," whereas the front is immense, "the equivalent of the Paris-Budapest line," explained the French president. Earlier, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he was working with Paris on "a plan" to end the clashes between kyiv and Moscow. He also promised to launch "a coalition of the willing" to champion a future peace deal. "Several countries" have indicated they want to be part of it, he said, without saying which ones.
"Europe must do the heavy lifting, but to defend peace on our continent, and for it to be successful, this effort must have the strong support of the United States," Starmer summed up at the end of the meeting in the British capital.
The meeting brought together 15 leaders, allies of Ukraine, to seek agreements on security and show their support for the European country, at war with Russia, following the heated altercation between US President Donald Trump and Zelensky in the White House.
The leaders of France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania were invited to the meeting, which was initiated by the British Prime Minister. "More European countries will increase their defence spending," NATO chief Mark Rutte, who was present at the summit, told reporters, calling it "very good news."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for an "urgent rearmament of Europe." "It is of the utmost importance that we increase our defence spending in Europe and prepare for the worst," she added. To this end, he will present "a comprehensive plan on how to rearm Europe" at the extraordinary European Union (EU) defence summit scheduled for Thursday in Brussels, advocating increasing defence spending "over a long period."
"We will be with the people of Ukraine" Zelensky was embraced upon arrival by several of the leaders attending the summit, a welcome that was the opposite of the one he received in the Oval Office on Friday in Washington from US President Donald Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance.
"I hope you know that we will be with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes," Starmer told the Ukrainian president at the opening of the meeting. Zelensky was also received at the end of the meeting by British King Charles III at his residence in Sandringham, in eastern England.
"We are all deeply committed to achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," stressed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. "I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk of the West becoming divided," he added.
Ukraine and Europe are following with concern the rapprochement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have begun bilateral negotiations to end the war without inviting Ukraine or the Europeans.
"In the 21st century, relations between countries are alliances, not vassalage. The era of subjugated countries is over. Today we defend an international order of free, equal and sovereign countries. That is why we defend Ukraine against Putin's neo-imperialist threat," wrote Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on the social network X before the London meeting. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed hope that the United States would continue to support Ukraine.
"International and transatlantic support for Ukraine is important for the security of the country and Europe," the German chancellor told reporters.
Unrest among Ukraine's allies has escalated following Friday's verbal spat at the White House, in which Trump berated Zelensky, accusing him of playing "at the risk of a third world war." Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has called on the West to resist "blackmail and aggression" from Russia, and called for unity between Europe and the United States over Ukraine.
Across the Atlantic, senior US officials have suggested the Ukrainian leader may have to step down if a peace deal is to be reached. "We need a leader who can negotiate with us and the Russians at some point and end this war," President Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz told CNN.