Europe Asia News

European leaders said that more work is needed to secure security guarantees for Ukraine, as the United States is pressuring Kyiv to reach a quick agreement with Russia.

Travelling to Brussels to meet with NATO officials, Zelensky said that Ukraine would share a revised plan with the United States on Tuesday.

Answering reporters’ questions after Monday’s meeting in London, Zelensky said that “points that were definitely anti-Ukrainian” had been removed from the initial agreement proposed in November.

However, the Ukrainian president acknowledged that there were significant concerns regarding territorial concessions and that “no compromise has yet been reached.”

European leaders are walking a fine line between supporting Ukraine and keeping the United States on their side.

A spokesperson for the UK Prime Minister’s Office said:

“All leaders agreed that this is a critical moment and that we must continue to increase our support for Ukraine and the economic pressure on Putin to end this barbaric war.”

The statement said: “Leaders discussed the importance of the US-led peace talks for European security and welcomed the progress made.”

It added that “leaders also underlined the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, including strong security guarantees.”

Before hosting the meetings at Downing Street, Starmer said that any peace agreement for Ukraine must include “clear and firm security guarantees.”

Merz said he was “skeptical” about some details of the potential plan expected from the United States. “But we need to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he added.

After the meeting, France said that efforts to provide security guarantees to Ukraine would be “intensified.”