12th Aug 2025 05:18
(Alliance News) - Keir Starmer is set to join a call with European leaders and Donald Trump on Wednesday, ahead of the US president's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
The UK prime minister warned on Monday that peace "must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it", amid concerns of Kyiv's exclusion from talks between Trump and his Russian counterpart.
The two leaders are set to meet this Friday to discuss the future of the Kremlin's invasion, without the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump has confirmed.
The US president has also signalled he thinks Ukraine might need to cede territory in order to end the conflict, stating there is likely to be "some land-swapping going on".
Speaking during a lengthy press conference, Trump pledged to "try to get back" some of Ukraine's "oceanfront property" from Russia.
He said: "We're going to change the lines, the battle lines. Russia has occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine.
"They have taken largely – in real estate we call it oceanfront property. That's always the most valuable property."
Trump said he would speak to the Ukrainian president following the summit and suggested he could meet Putin at a later date.
The call on Wednesday, organised by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, will include Zelensky.
In a joint statement earlier this week, the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said: "Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny.
"Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.
"The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.
"We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force."
The prime minister and Canada's Mark Carney had also agreed Ukraine's future "must be one of freedom, sovereignty and self-determination" during a phone call on Monday.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "They discussed their unwavering support for Ukraine and ongoing work to stop the killing, and end Russia's war of aggression.
"Both leaders underscored that Ukraine's future must be one of freedom, sovereignty and self-determination.
"They welcomed continued international efforts, led by President Trump, to bring peace and agreed that this must be built with Ukraine, not imposed upon it.
"Both leaders agreed they would continue to work closely with President Trump and President Zelensky over the coming days. They agreed to stay in touch."
No 10 had earlier backed Trump's interventions over the war but warned that Putin cannot be trusted "as far as you can throw him".
Asked whether Starmer believes the Russian president could be trusted in negotiations, the prime minister's official spokesman said the UK supported both Kyiv and the US president's push for peace, but not Moscow.
"Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine," he said.
"We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.
"But it is exactly why we've been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.
"So we're not going to leave it to trust. We're going to ensure that we're prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire."
The US president has suggested that any peace deal was likely to involve "some swapping of territories", with reports suggesting this could involve Ukraine giving up its Donetsk region.
But Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise Ukraine's territorial integrity, something that is forbidden by Ukraine's constitution.
He said Putin wanted to "exchange a pause in the war, in the killing, for the legalisation of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial spoils for the second time".
Zelensky added: "We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine.
"Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third."
By Rhiannon James and Nina Lloyd, PA
source: PA
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