Keir Starmer was not amongst Western leaders to receive a call from Donald Trump following his two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Posting on his social network Truth Social in the aftermath of the call, the US president listed a series of European leaders he had talked with following his conversation with Putin, with Starmer not included.
The US president took to the social network Truth Social following the discussion which suggests he did not include the British Prime Minister in a call he had with allies afterwards. He wrote: “I have so informed PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky, of Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, President Emmanuel Macron, of France, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of Germany, and President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, during a call with me, immediately after the call with President Putin.
“The Vatican, as represented by the Pope, has stated that it would be very interested in hosting the negotiations. Let the process begin!
Starmer has positioned himself at the centre of western support for Ukraine, chairing meetings of the ‘coalition of the willing’ and hosting Ukrainian leader Zelensky following his infamous Oval Office bust up in Washington.
However, he was the most notable absentee from Trump’s impromptu meeting following the call.
This evening, Keir Starmer is addressing Labour MPs as he seeks to sell his EU deal to them and maintain party cohesion amid reports of a potential rebellion over proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments ( PIP ).
Mr Trump spent two hours discussing a possible ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict with Putin, with his Truth Social post suggesting that the two remain no closer to a deal.
Mr Trump added: “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” seemingly suggesting that the US would take a backseat in negotiations having failed to bring peace any closer in the four months since Trump took office.
Peace in Ukraine was one of Trump’s signature pledges throughout the election and his early months in office, with a failure to obtain a cessation in fighting having the potential to cause embarrassment for the Trump administration.