00:00The leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom have backed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
00:06in calling for direct ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine, according to a joint statement issued
00:13following defence talks in London on Sunday night.
00:17Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron
00:22and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Downing Street for talks.
00:26The leaders supported the proposal for a direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia
00:31with active US and European participation.
00:35According to the leaders, the current line of contact, quote,
00:38should be the starting point for negotiations and international borders must not be changed by force.
00:45Sunday's meeting in London comes after Zelensky had proposed a face-to-face meeting
00:50with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an open letter last week.
00:54Putin has ruled out the move, saying he saw no point in meeting Zelensky
00:59until a possible peace deal had been agreed.
01:02The UK, France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations,
01:07have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
01:13Thank you very much.
01:14Yes, please.
01:16Please.
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