Over ten leaders invited to Ukraine summit in UK: peace and security to be discussed

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has invited over ten European leaders to a summit on Ukraine and security on 2 March.

Source: European Pravda, citing AFP

Quote from Starmer's office: "The prime minister will use the summit to drive forward European action on Ukraine – signalling our collective unwavering support to securing a just and enduring peace, and a lasting deal, that ensures Ukraine's future sovereignty and security."

Details: Leaders from across continental Europe, including France, Germany, Denmark and Italy, as well as Türkiye, NATO and the European Union, were invited to the summit.

Starmer has also invited the leaders of the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania to the summit, which will take place on 27 February at the White House.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa are also expected to attend.

Prior to the main summit, Starmer will reportedly hold a morning phone call with the Baltic states and then meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street to discuss the war, unleashed by Russia.

Before the summit, Starmer is also scheduled to host one-on-one talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Downing Street.

His office said the meeting would build on the Paris talks hosted by French Emmanuel Macron earlier this month and focus on "strengthening Ukraine's position now – including ongoing military support and increased economic pressure on Russia".

It would again stress the need for a "strong lasting deal that delivers a permanent peace" and discuss "next steps on planning for strong security guarantees".

Starmer, while insisting again that Ukraine must be part of any negotiations to end the three-year full-scale war, unleashed by Russia, will also recognise "the need for Europe to play its part on defence and step up for the good of the collective security".

Background: 

• During his meeting with Starmer on 27 February, US President Donald Trump refused to guarantee that the US side would come to the aid of a potential UK's "peacekeeping force" in Ukraine in the event of a Russian attack.
• According to media reports, the UK and France have prepared a plan to deploy up to 30,000 European troops in Ukraine.
• Meanwhile, the United States expressed support for the European mission but refused to participate in it directly.

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