LONDON

More than a dozen European leaders gathered in London on Sunday for crisis talks, looking to boost security cooperation and support for Ukraine after an astonishing blowout between Kiev and Washington.

Ukraine’s allies have been underscoring their steadfast commitment to counter growing concerns that U.S. President Donald Trump is about to sell Kiev short in negotiations with Russia.

The day after he was kicked out of the White House, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was warmly welcomed to Downing Street on March 1 night.

The summit brings together leaders from around continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as Türkiye, NATO and the European Union. Türkiye was represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The U.K. and France will work with Ukraine on a plan to end the fighting with Russia, which will later be presented to the United States, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said yesterday.

“The United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States,” Starmer told the BBC.

Starmer said that “nobody wants to see” the scenes of the two leaders’ White House clash, and that “I am clear in my mind that he [Trump] does want a lasting peace.”

The prime minister has presented himself as a bridge between the United States and Europe, and met with Trump in Washington on Feb. 27.

“We have to find a way that we can all work together. Because, in the end, we’ve had three years of bloody conflict. Now we need to get to that lasting peace.” Starmer said.

“For me, the components of a lasting peace are a strong Ukraine to fight on, if necessary, to be in a position of strength; to negotiate a European element to security guarantees… and a U.S. backstop.”

The U.K. also unveiled a 2.26-billion-pound ($2.84 billion) loan agreement to support Ukraine’s defense capabilities, to be paid back with the profits of immobilized sovereign Russian assets.

“The funds will be directed toward weapons production in Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “This is true justice, the one who started the war must be the one to pay.”

While in London he said he was “happy” to “have such strategic partners and to share the same vision of what a secure future should look like for all.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said in remarks aired yesterday that the United States’ dramatic shift in foreign policy largely aligns with its own vision.

“The new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a reporter from state television.

“There is a long way to go, because there is huge damage to the whole complex of bilateral relations. But if the political will of the two leaders, President Putin and President Trump, is maintained, this path can be quite quick and successful,” Peskov added.

Peskov made the comments on Feb. 26, but the remarks were only made public yesterday.

Trump has since even further aligned himself with Moscow, rebuking Zelensky in a stunning televised confrontation at the White House on Feb. 28.

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