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On Tuesday, Ukraine accepted a US-backed ceasefire proposal, raising hopes that it might lead to the end of the war with Russia, which has been raging on for over three years. However, one of the key mediators of the deal was neither US President Donald Trump nor Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, who made Trump and Zelenskyy come to terms just weeks after their embarrassing public spat.
According to Politico, on Tuesday morning, Starmer sent two WhatsApp messages, one to Trump and the other to Zelenskyy. The British premier congratulated the two world leaders for agreeing on a ceasefire plan and restoring the vital flow of military aid and intelligence from Washington to Kyiv.
As per the report, Starmer and one of his advisers had been working intensively behind the scenes for the past week on a draft of the ceasefire deal. “I am pleased that we made progress,” Starmer reflected on Wednesday, speaking in the British parliament. “And I’m extremely pleased that support has been put in back by the US for Ukraine," he added. While things have come a long way since the fight between Trump and Zelenskyy, here’s a look at how Starmer became a key mediator between the two.
Navigating the fight
On February 28, the world was shocked after they watched Trump and Vice President JD Vance publically berating their guest, the Ukrainian president, in front of the media at the White House. While Vance frequently asked Zelenskyy whether he has been grateful for the American support, Trump went on to claim that the Ukrainian leader was “ gambling with World War Three.”
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View AllThe whole exchange enraged the European leaders, who soon took to social media to rally behind Zelenskyy. “If someone is playing World War III, his name is Vladimir Putin,” French President Emmanuel Macron declared. However, Starmer handled the matter differently. He sent a statement from a spokesperson of “unwavering support” for Ukraine and then called both Trump and Zelenskyy.
“His reaction was to pick up the phone, not reach for Twitter,” one person familiar with the situation told Politico. One of the major reasons behind this mild approach was that just hours before the spat in the White House, Starmer paid a visit to Trump and attempted to woo the Republican firebrand.
From delivering an invitation to a state visit from King Charles to proposing beneficial trade deals, the British premier charmed Trump like no one else. Hence, the tussle between Trump and Zelenskyy put Starmer in a precarious position; he couldn’t openly criticise Trump and Vance so soon after his own White House love-in, but he still wanted to show support for Ukraine and keep European leaders on board.
The diplomatic manoeuvrings that followed
The morning after the White House saga, Zelenskyy landed in London, where he was embraced by Starmer and the pro-Ukraine Britons. Starmer quickly called for a one-day summit with Zelenskyy and other European leaders, reaffirming their support for Ukraine.
During the meeting, Starmer and the EU leaders vowed to keep stocking Ukraine’s military with weapons; demanded that any permanent deal ensure the security of Ukraine and that Kyiv be involved in negotiating it; pledged to reinforce Ukraine’s defences to deter any future Russian attack; and promised to deploy forces to keep the peace. The British premier also assured that the country would put “boots on the ground and planes in the air” as part of a future peacekeeping mission.
Days after meeting in London, EU leaders discussed the Russia- Ukraine war in Brussels, where they agreed to ramp up their military spending to levels not seen since the Cold War. While all this was happening, Trump had his own plans. On March 3, the American leader halted the supply of military aid to Ukraine and then banned US intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
The orders from Trump came at a complicated time since Ukrainian troops were already struggling to hold on to the occupied parts of Russia’s Kursk. The whole incident left Starmer surprised since he was unaware of Trump’s latest jab despite having a phone call with him just hours before the president made the announcement.
Hence, Starmer decided to speak to Macron about how to navigate this situation. While this was happening, British national security adviser Jonathan Powell urged Zelenskyy to make amends with Trump, which ultimately led to a letter from the Ukrainian leader emphasising that whatever happened in the White House was “regrettable”.
Before the scheduled meeting between US and Ukrainian diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, March 11, Powell remained in contact with his American counterpart Mike Waltz, and ultimately, a ceasefire proposal came into the picture.
Challenges ahead
Over the weekend, Powell travelled to Kyiv, where he sat down with Zelenskyy and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, to draft the ceasefire agreement. According to Politico, the blueprint of the deal included plans for “confidence-building” measures, including an exchange of prisoners, the release of detained civilians and the return of Ukrainian children taken by Russia.
While this was happening, on Monday night, Starmer called Trump and emphasised that Zelenskyy is ready to accept the deal. He also requested that Trump resume the aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine. While many lauded Starmer for his mediation tactics, hours later, Trump imposed tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, disregarding pleas from America’s traditional allies in Europe, including the UK.
Many are also questioning whether Britain has the military strength to keep the peace in Ukraine. “Keir is a diplomatic power player, the last few weeks proved that especially,” one US official told Politico. “But everyone’s also wondering whether on the military front — the one that really counts for Putin — the U.K. isn’t a paper tiger.”
Powell will now be visiting Washington on Friday for more talks with his American counterparts before Starmer convenes another meeting of his coalition of the willing on Saturday. Meanwhile, Russia is yet to accept the ceasefire deal.
With inputs from agencies.
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