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Sir Keir Starmer has assembled around 20 countries interested in forming a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine after any ceasefire, European officials said on Thursday.
The group of countries, said to be “largely European and Commonwealth partners”, held talks this week as frantic transatlantic discussions took place to try to secure a truce in Ukraine’s war with Russia.
British officials declined to name the countries that took part in the talks. “This is still early stages and the situation is very fluid,” said one, but added: “This is a hugely positive step.”
Last Sunday the UK prime minister hosted the leaders of 13 mainly European countries for talks about forming a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine.
Britain and France have offered to send troops to Ukraine to help secure any truce and Starmer said others were also prepared to join a multinational force in the country.
This week there were signs that the coalition was broadening after 20 countries took part in discussions hosted by the UK. People briefed on the talks said participants were officials from foreign ministries, typically at political director level.
The talks are linked to a meeting of defence chiefs in Paris next week, one of the people said, adding that “all of these meetings are about security guarantees and that they are mostly populated by the same countries”.
British officials stressed that while the countries on the call wanted to help secure peace in Ukraine, they were not all committed to joining a UK/French-led force.
Canada, a Commonwealth nation which attended the London talks on Sunday, has expressed an interest in joining Starmer’s “coalition of the willing” to help secure any truce in Ukraine.
Starmer also held a video call with leaders of the three Baltic states on Sunday. British officials declined to say whether they were represented at the most recent meeting.
The British prime minister has been working closely with French President Emmanuel Macron, in partnership with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to draw up a peace plan to present to US President Donald Trump.
European diplomats said it was unclear exactly what would happen next, but that “things could move very quickly” and that they expected there to be “another Zelenskyy-Trump moment” in the coming days.
Zelenskyy has now indicated he is willing to sign a minerals deal with the US and to work with Trump on a peace plan. Starmer and Macron had both urged the Ukrainian president to urgently rebuild bridges with Trump after the row in the Oval Office last week.
People briefed on the negotiations say it is unclear whether Zelenskyy would travel to Washington with Starmer and Macron or if it might be better for him not to return to the White House at this delicate stage.
“It could be a phone call from Zelenskyy,” said one European diplomat. “There are a lot of conversations going on at the moment. It’s not clear when Starmer and Macron might return to Washington or whether Zelenskyy will be with them.”
British officials say the immediate objective for Starmer is to ensure Zelenskyy signs the minerals deal, which the UK prime minister hopes could be a “game changer” as far as Republican party sentiment is concerned on the conflict.
One official briefed on the talks said: “Britain is more carrot and the Americans more stick — but it is a good double act. The Americans have to know though the British are putting pressure on Ukraine to seriously engage with the ceasefire to call Russia’s bluff.”
The hope in London is that once Zelenskyy has signed the minerals deal, Trump will then exert pressure on Vladimir Putin to agree a ceasefire. “If the Russians pussyfoot around, Trump will whack them,” said one European diplomat.
Russia said on Thursday it was “categorically” opposed to any deal that allows European troops to act as peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Ireland, which is militarily neutral and has a long tradition of peacekeeping, has said it “will not be found wanting” on any European peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. Earlier on Thursday Starmer and Taoiseach Micheál Martin agreed to work together more closely on foreign and security co-operation and military training, as well as on energy and maritime security.
John Healey, UK defence secretary, was in Washington on Thursday attempting to persuade his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Europe is prepared to help secure the peace but that it needs American military cover as “a backstop”.
Some European diplomats are concerned that Trump will not be persuaded on that point, creating a dilemma for the likes of Starmer and Macron on whether a peacekeeping force of any kind is viable.
Starmer has won plaudits from across the political spectrum for his handling of the Trump negotiations — including his visit to the White House last week — and one British observer said the chemistry between the two leaders was intriguing.
“When the PM focuses on something he really focuses and is decisive,” the person said. “He is slightly risk averse and reluctant to deploy personality but for Trump this works.
“But the PM listens to him, he is not trying to score debating points or get the last word but in a quiet and measured way his arguments land with the president.”
Additional reporting by Jude Webber in Dublin
