Sir Keir Starmer hopes to finalise a peacekeeping plan for Ukraine this week, the Mail understands.
The Prime Minister will continue his diplomatic push in a bid to reach a more ‘concrete’ blueprint for peace which can be presented to Washington.
Britain and France have been leading efforts to get countries to commit to the peacekeeping coalition.
Officials from about 20 largely European and Commonwealth countries took part in the talks about the peacekeeping coalition last week.
Not all the countries interested in the plan would necessarily provide troops to a peacekeeping force, but they could potentially contribute in other ways.
Over the weekend, Sir Keir spoke to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese who said he would ‘consider contributing’ to the ‘coalition of the willing’.
The PM will hold further talks with allies this week, while Defence Secretary John Healey will join his counterparts in Paris on Wednesday — a day after France hosts a key meeting of European military chiefs of staff.
Tomorrow, senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet for talks on the war in Saudi Arabia.
Sir Keir Starmer (left, with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, right, earlier this month) hopes to finalise a peacekeeping plan for Ukraine this week, the Mail understands
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (left) will also visit Riyadh today for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right). Pictured: Zelensky meeting the Crown Prince in Riyadh last month
If a peacekeeping plan is agreed among European allies, Sir Keir could take it to the White House along with French president Emmanuel Macron and Mr Zelensky to present a united front to Donald Trump (pictured)
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will also visit Riyadh today for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
If a peacekeeping plan is agreed among European allies, Sir Keir could take it to the White House along with French president Emmanuel Macron and Mr Zelensky to present a united front to Donald Trump.
Yesterday, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden said countries cannot be ‘dragooned’ into the coalition of the willing by the UK.
He said that nations have to ‘step forward themselves’ if they want to be part of the group of nations willing to defend a peace deal in Ukraine.
It comes as Russian attacks on Ukraine have intensified in recent days, with 25 people — including six children — killed in strikes on Saturday in the Donetsk region.
And yesterday it was reported that Russian special forces walked inside a gas pipeline to strike Ukrainian units from the rear in the Kursk region.
Last week, the White House suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv in the wake of the confrontation between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky at the end of February.
Mr McFadden did not say whether it was ‘wrong’ for the US to stop sharing satellite imagery but said that America is trying to ‘bring the war to an end’.
Over the weekend, Sir Keir (centre right) spoke to his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese (centre left) who said he would ‘consider contributing’ to the ‘coalition of the willing’. Pictured: Albanese and Starmer along with other leaders of the G20 members at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, last November
The PM will hold further talks with allies this week, while Defence Secretary John Healey (pictured) will join his counterparts in Paris on Wednesday
Asked whether it was ‘wrong’, Mr McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: ‘Well, it’s their decision. It’s not something that we’ve done.
‘We support Ukraine, we continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, with intelligence support, with help on the cyber front, because we believe that they’re engaged in a really important fight for their country’s freedom and the capacity to decide their own future.’
Pushed further on whether the White House bears any responsibility for casualties in recent days in Ukraine, Mr McFadden said: ‘With regard to the United States, what they’re trying to do is bring the war to an end. I think that aim is shared by everyone.
‘What we want to secure is not just an end to the fighting, but a peace that lasts, and that has underlined every action the Prime Minister has taken in recent weeks, because it will do nothing to secure Ukraine’s future if we have a temporary ceasefire, which lasts only as long as president Putin wants it to.’
