March 2, 2025
Starmer: Europe must do the heavy lifting, but effort needs strong US backing
After hosting crisis talks on Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer laid out important steps that the leaders discussed behind closed doors on Sunday.
“We will keep the military aid flowing and keep the economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine now,” Starmer said at the press conference.
He also underlined that “any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine’s sovereignty and security” with Ukraine at the table.
In the event of a peace deal, he said “We will keep boosting Ukraine’s own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion.”
Starmer also mentioned the plan to develop “a coalition of the willing” to guarantee peace in Ukraine. “Those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency.”
He said that his country “is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others” but stressed that “Europe must do the heavy lifting but to support peace in our continent and succeed, this effort must have strong US backing.”
“We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. It’s time to act, time to step up and lead, and unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace,” Starmer said.
He also told reporters that any future peace deal will require Russia’s involvement.
“In the end, a deal will have to involve Russia, of course it will, but we can’t approach this on the basis that Russia dictates the terms of any security guarantee before we’ve even got to a deal, otherwise we won’t make any progress at all,” Starmer said.
Starmer dismissed that the US is now “an unreliable ally.”
“Nobody wanted to see what happened last Friday,” he said, referring to the Oval Office row between Zelenskyy and US President Donald Trump. “But I do not accept that the US is an unreliable ally.”
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