ARCHIVE – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Photo: Frank Augstein/Pool AP/dpa/Archive image
Keystone
Following today’s talks on the war in Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sees a “realistic chance” of a ceasefire in the conflict. Since the war began around three and a half years ago, it has not been possible to find a way to achieve a ceasefire. Now there is this chance “thanks to the work” that US President Donald Trump has done, Starmer said before a virtual meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, according to the British news agency PA.
A virtual meeting had previously taken place with European heads of state and government and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had traveled to Berlin especially for the event. Today, “real progress” had been made. Starmer spoke of a “decisive moment”. “We must combine active diplomacy on the one hand with military support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia.”
Continue to exert pressure on Russia
The British Prime Minister went on to explain that plans had already been drawn up to deploy security troops following an agreed ceasefire. The UK is also prepared to continue to exert pressure on Russia and President Vladimir Putin. The UK is therefore already preparing the “next package of strong sanctions” against Russia.
The “coalition of the willing” refers to a group of states led by the UK and France that may be prepared to deploy military forces to monitor compliance with a possible ceasefire in Ukraine. Without US security guarantees, however, this hardly seems feasible so far.