 "Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a virtual meeting with international leaders to discuss support for Ukraine inside 10 Downing street in central London on March 15, 2025.- AFP")
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the responsibility now lay with Russia and that President Vladimir Putin would eventually have to negotiate, following a virtual summit aimed at rallying support for a coalition to safeguard a potential ceasefire in Ukraine.
Addressing around 26 world leaders during the call hosted by Downing Street, Starmer emphasised the need to bolster Ukraine, secure any ceasefire, and maintain pressure on Moscow.
While Ukraine had shown it was the “party of peace” by agreeing to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, “Putin is the one trying to delay,” he said.
“If Putin is serious about peace, I think it’s very simple, he has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire, and the world is watching,” he added.
Dutch PM urges continued pressure on Russia for ceasefire
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said on Saturday it was vital to keep up the pressure on Russia to come to a ceasefire deal with Ukraine.
“It is now important to continue to exert pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table,” said Schoof in a message on X, formerly Twitter, after taking part in a virtual meeting with other leaders about Ukraine hosted by Britain.
Schoof said there was “broad agreement” among the leaders to continue military and financial support for Ukraine.
The proposals from the US and Ukraine for a ceasefire “also give hope,” added the Dutch PM, warning that Europe would also continue to work hard on new sanctions on Russia.
Impact Shorts
View AllFighting in Kursk region
As moves have gathered pace for a ceasefire, Moscow has pushed this week to retake a large part of the land that Ukraine originally captured in western Kursk.
But Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who joined the talks, denied Saturday any “encirclement” of his troops in the Kursk region.
“Our troops continue to hold back Russian and North Korean groupings in the Kursk region,” he said on social media.
The Russian defence ministry said troops took control over the villages of Zaoleshenka and Rubanshchina – north and west of the town of Sudzha, the main town that Moscow reclaimed this week.
Kyiv meanwhile said its air force had overnight downed 130 Iranian-made Russian-launched Shahed drones over 14 regions of the country.
Putin has called on embattled Ukrainian troops in Kursk to “surrender”, while his US counterpart Donald Trump urged the Kremlin to spare their lives.
“The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace,” Starmer said late Friday ahead of the call.
With inputs from agencies