LONDON — Keir Starmer told fellow world leaders Monday that Russia “does not hold all the cards” in the war in Ukraine and that Kyiv must be involved in peace talks, as he prepares to meet U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a virtual address to a summit of European leaders in Kyiv marking three years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion, the British prime minister — who will head to Washington this week — stressed that the U.K. stands fully behind Ukraine.
And he insisted, despite some noises from Trump’s team to the contrary, that Ukraine remains in a strong position to negotiate as the U.S. president seeks an end to the conflict. Trump last week said Russia has “the cards” in peace talks because they had taken lots of territory.
Starmer said: “This is a time for unity. In this crucial moment as talks begin, we must work together to shape the outcome.
“Russia does not hold all the cards in this war. Ukrainians have the courage to defend their country because Russia’s economy is in trouble, and because they are have lost the benefit of their land forces and their Black Sea Fleet in this pointless invasion.”
The prime minister said an “enduring peace” would be delivered only by boosting military support to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia. The U.K. announced a fresh package Monday targeting those with close Kremlin links.
Starmer said Trump “has changed the global conversation over the last few weeks, and it has created an opportunity” — but he argued that any peace would only endure with Ukraine at the negotiating table — a move the U.S. and Russia have resisted so far — as well as security guarantees backed by the U.S.
The U.K. prime minister will visit D.C. Thursday for face-to-face talks with Trump, who has kept Ukraine out of the discussions on its own future and caused alarm in major European capitals as he publicly feuds with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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