Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says that there is 'more to do' on the US-drafted peace plan for Ukraine.The Prime Minister met with allies of Ukraine during his visit to the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
00:00Prime Minister, there have been very fast-moving events around a Ukraine deal in the past couple of days
00:05and a very tight deadline for agreements set by President Trump.
00:10What are your next steps?
00:12Well, the plan, the 28-point plan, has a number of important elements
00:18which are essential to a just and lasting peace, and that's what we all want.
00:23There is more to do on the plan,
00:25and we've had a meeting this afternoon of like-minded leaders from the Coalition of the Willing who are here at the G20
00:32to engage on that, and tomorrow in Geneva there will be a meeting of senior US personnel,
00:40of the Ukrainians, and of NSA's National Security Advisors from Europe,
00:45including my National Security Advisor, to take things further forward.
00:49And have you spoken to President Trump yet about this peace plan personally?
00:54I talk to President Trump frequently, and I'm expecting to talk to him again in coming days.
01:01But look, there's been a lot of discussion in the last few days at the European level with the Ukrainians.
01:06It is fast-moving, as you say.
01:08I think the focus very much now is on Geneva tomorrow, and whether we can make progress tomorrow morning.
01:16Prime Minister, does the US proposal amount to a surrender to Russia?
01:20Could you personally set the deal as it stands, and could you counsel your friend, President Zelensky, to accept such a deal?
01:28Well, we're talking to President Zelensky pretty well-continued.
01:33I spoke to him yesterday, along with Chancellor Mertz and President Macron.
01:38I'm expecting to talk to President Zelensky again in about an hour or so, hopefully, if we can set that up.
01:44And, of course, we'll be there in Geneva tomorrow.
01:49It is important to keep firmly in mind what we're all trying to achieve, which is a just and lasting peace.
01:57But also underpinning that is the principle that I've always adhered to, that all matters about Ukraine must be determined in the end by Ukraine.
02:07And that's why we're talking very regularly with the Ukrainians.
02:11Final question. Are the UK and other allies' scenario planning now to potentially continue this war, supporting Ukraine, without the US in the fight,
02:22if they don't move on these elements of the deal that are not palatable to President Zelensky?
02:27Well, I'm absolutely clear in my mind that President Trump wants a just and lasting peace,
02:34not just from the actions he's taken towards that end, but also from the private discussions that I've had with him one-to-one on this issue.
02:44So I know what he's trying to achieve.
02:46We all want to achieve that, and that is what our focus is.
02:51I think it is important to say that one of the elements in the 28-point plan is the security guarantee from the US, an Article 5 guarantee.
03:00That's about the strongest guarantee that can be put forward.
03:05And so that fortifies in me the belief that what we're all trying to achieve here is a just and lasting peace.
03:12But it will only be just and lasting if there are security guarantees and if we bear in mind that matters for Ukraine are always to be determined by Ukraine.
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