UK, France and Ukraine agree to work on ceasefire plan for Russia’s war in Ukraine

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to U.S.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The UK will work with France and “possibly one or two other countries” on a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia and present that to U.S. President Donald Trump. This sequence of events was outlined by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday (March 2, 2025), following unprecedented scenes from the Oval Office on Friday (February 28, 2025), where an argument erupted between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.

“We’ve now agreed that the United Kingdom, along with France and possibly one or two others, will work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, and then we’ll discuss that plan with the United States,” Mr Starmer said during a BBC interview on Sunday.

Mr. Starmer had spoken with Mr. Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron as well as Mr. Zelenskyy and they had agreed to the new sequence of play towards a deal, he said.

After the acrimonious interaction in Washington, Mr Zelenskyy was received warmly in London on Saturday, welcomed by Mr Starmer with a hug outside No.10 Downing Street. The two men held bilateral talks ahead of Sunday’s summit meeting between European leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO chief Mark Rutte. Mr Zelenskyy is also scheduled to meet King Charles on Sunday.

Following Friday’s spat, Mr. Starmer said he was working as a “bridge” between Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Trump.

“Yes I felt uncomfortable, nobody wants to see that,” he told the BBC, reacting to the happenings at the Oval Office.

 “We have to bridge this…we ‘ve had three years of bloody conflict now [ in Ukraine ], we have to get to that lasting peace,” he said.

Mr. Starmer said he was very sure that Mr. Trump’s motive was to achieve lasting peace. There is skepticism in Europe around Mr. Trump’s motivations as he had declared a shift in U.S. foreign policy and focused  first on Ukraine signing a deal on a US-Ukraine partnership to extract Ukrainian minerals.

In recent days, Mr. Trump had called Mr. Zelenskyy a “dictator”, been critical about the European Union and accusing Ukraine of starting the war with Russia. Last week, the U.S. voted with Russia against a United Nations General Assembly resolution drafted by the Europeans condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and affirming Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Mr. Zelenskyy told Fox News on Friday night, following the Oval Office meeting, the relationship with Mr Trump could be salvaged and that he wanted Mr Trump to “be more on our side”. In a departure from decades’ long U.S. policy, Mr. Trump had stated he was not aligned with anyone and wanted the war over.

Avoid splitting the West: Meloni

Mr. Starmer is one of at least three intermediaries that have emerged between the Ukrainians and Americans. Mr. Macron and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, with whom Mr Trump has relatively good inter-personal dynamics, have also spoken to the U.S. President over the weekend.

Ms. Meloni, who is close to Mr Trump as well as to tech billionaire and U.S. government adviser Elon Musk,  is one of the EU’s most conservative leaders. She did not publicly put out a message of support to Mr Zelenskyy following Friday’s incident. However, under her, Italy has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia just over three years ago.

Speaking to the press at her bilateral meeting with Mr Starmer on Sunday, Ms Meloni said it was “very, very important” to avoid a split in the West, as she backed a “just and lasting” peace for Ukraine. The Italian premier has proposed a meeting between Mr Trump and European leaders.

European leaders such as Mr. Starmer and Mr. Macron have wanted a “backstop” from the U.S. once a peace deal is reached , i.e., a security guarantee.

Sunday’s summit would included discussions on this, as well as the ceasefire itself and  strengthening Ukraine’s current position via military support and economic pressure on Russia.