The UK said there are several proposals for a potential Ukrainian ceasefire after French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a limited first month of truce.
The UK-France-led European countries are considering options for a proposal to halt Russia’s Ukrainian war after the oval office rupture between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky last week.
British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said he agreed to host the summit of European leaders in London on Sunday and create a Ukrainian Peace Plan to present to the US.
In an interview on his way to the summit, Macron raised the possibility of a month’s ceasefire, but so far there has been no public support from other allies.
“In such a ceasefire, maritime, sea and energy infrastructure will allow us to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a ceasefire,” French Jean Noel Barro said of Macron’s proposal.
“And that’s when real peace negotiations could begin.”
A spokesman for priority on Monday said there were “obviously many options” on the table.
“I’m just not in the running commentary on options,” he added.
UK Defense Minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio there was no agreement on “what the truce would look like.”
“But we are working with our French and European allies for lasting peace,” Pollard said.
Zelenskyy was asked if he knew of the plans raised by Macron. “I know everything,” he said.
In comments Monday, Zelensky accused Russia of not being serious about peace, calling it the only way to end a more than three-year conflict in Ukraine.
He sought “effective security guarantees that would make Russian attacks impossible to return,” after predicting that Moscow would break some kind of deal.
“Anyone who wishes to negotiate will not intentionally attack people with ballistic missiles,” he said in a statement.
Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022, rejected the comments of the Ukrainian leader, accusing them of not wanting peace, reflecting our criticism after Zelensky was yelled at the White House last week.
“Of course, what happened at the White House on Friday showed how difficult it is to reach the trajectory of reconciliation around Ukraine,” said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin.
“The Kiev regime and Zelensky do not want peace. They want to continue the war. It is very important that Zelensky himself forces someone to change their position. They must make sure that someone wants Zelensky’s peace. If Europeans can do that, they should be respected and praised.”
European countries suddenly left the White House after what some leaders have described as the biggest policy reversal since World War II from Washington, particularly after bust-ups on Friday, when Zelensky dressed down in front of cameras by Trump and US vice president JD Vance.
The Ukrainian leader was in Washington to sign a contract to provide the United States with access to Ukrainian minerals, but left without signing it.
Speaking to Fox News, US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said Zelenskyy should apologize.
“What we need to hear from President Zelenskiy is that he regrets what happened, that he is ready to sign this mineral trade and that he is ready to engage in peace negotiations,” Waltz said.
“I don’t think there’s too much to ask. I’ll see what happens in the next 48 hours, but we’re certainly trying to move forward positively.”
European leaders agree that they must spend more on defense to show Trump that the continent can protect themselves. The European Union is scheduled to hold an emergency summit on Thursday.
A report from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford said Ukrainians are blessed with uncertain times ahead.
“They would have been supported by the level of support expressed by the European leaders in London yesterday, but they also recognize that there are many hurdles that they need to overcome before they can be realistic and concrete in terms of stopping the fighting in Ukraine,” Stratford said.
“It’s also important to the US whether or not they agree to the security guarantees for this plan that Europe has and when it comes to mineral trade,” he added.
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