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The comments came ahead of a #summit in #London on Sunday, where #Starmer met w/ President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine & other European leaders to discuss the #war. The gathering took on greater urgency after Zelensky’s meeting w/ #Trump & #JDVance on Friday raised fears the US would try to strong-arm Ukraine’s president into making a #peace deal on whatever terms the Americans [#Putin] dictated.

#Starmer said that he, Pres #Zelensky & Pres #Macron of #France had agreed they “would work on a plan for stopping the fighting & then discuss that plan w/the US.” Any #peace agreement “is going to need a US backstop,” Starmer added, saying British & #US teams were discussing the idea.

Sunday’s #summit was first set up to inform European leaders about Starmer’s meeting w/ #Trump. But it gained new importance after Friday, making supporting #Ukraine & beefing up their defenses more critical.

#Britain on Saturday announced a nearly $3B loan to #Ukraine aimed at bolstering the #war-torn country’s #military capability. It will be paid back using profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets, & the first tranche of funding is expected to be disbursed to Ukraine next week, Britain’s Treasury said.

#Europe’s leaders pledged to assemble a European “coalition of the willing” to develop a plan for ending Ukraine’s war w/ #Russia, which they hope could win the backing of #Trump.

On Sunday in, #Europe wrapped Pres #Zelensky in a warm embrace. He won expressions of support from the 18 assembled leaders, including Pres #Macron of #France, Chancellor Olaf #Scholz of #Germany & PM #GiorgiaMeloni of #Italy. After meeting them, he was scheduled to visit #KingCharles III at his country estate, Sandringham, NE of London.

Yet behind the carefully choreographed show of solidarity, there was a recognition that keeping the #UnitedStates on board remains critical.

The #summit meeting has thrust #Starmer into an unaccustomed place for a British prime minister: at the heart of #Europe during a crisis. >8 years after the country voted to leave the #EU, the rapidly changing #security landscape is driving #Britain closer to the continent.

Catherine Ashton, a Briton who served as the EU’s high representative for #ForeignAffairs & security policy, said Starmer’s successful meeting w/ #Trump had reinforced his credentials as a leader for Europe.

“It is unsurprising that allies in #Europe are gathering in London this weekend & equally unsurprising that the #UK is being taken much more seriously in Brussels & capitals,” Ashton said.

And yet there are limits to #Starmer’s #diplomacy. He was unable to extract any #security guarantees from #Trump for #Ukraine, despite an exaggerated show of deference to the president. That included Starmer hand-delivering an invitation for a state visit from #KingCharles….

Sergey #Lavrov, #Russia’s foreign minister, said that #France Pres #Macron & PM #Starmer of #Britain were “impertinent” in proposing thousands of #peacekeeping troops for #Ukraine. “No one is asking us,” Lavrov said in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda, the Russian state news agency #Tass reported on Sunday. Lavrov praised #Trump for “behaving correctly,” according to the report.

#Starmer of #Britain held a phone call w/ the leaders of #Estonia, #Latvia & #Lithuania – 3 countries that were not invited to attend Sunday’s #summit – in which he welcomed their support for #Ukraine, Starmer’s office said in a statement. “The Prime Minister updated them on his discussions with the leaders of Ukraine, #France & the #UnitedStates in recent days,” the statement said.

In addition to #Britain PM #Starmer & Presidents #Zelensky of #Ukraine & #Macron of #France, in attendance at the summit were, Chancellor Olaf #Scholz of #Germany & Prime Minister Justin #Trudeau of #Canada, Ursula #vonderLeyen, the president of the European Commission, #MarkRutte, the secretary general of #NATO, & #Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan #Fidan.

Kremlin’s spox, #DmitryPeskov praised the #Trump admin for changing its #ForeignPolicy in ways that “couldn’t have been imagined,” on the #war in #Ukraine.

“The new administration is fast changing all foreign policy configurations,” Peskov said, speaking to #Russia state television in comments recorded last Wednesday & released on Sunday [even before Friday’s debacle]. He added: “This coincides with our vision in many ways.”

Meanwhile in the #US…

#Republican #House Speaker #MikeJohnson defended #Trump’s & #JDVance’s conduct during the Oval Office meeting on Friday, saying that President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine “acted so inappropriately” & should have “shown more gratitude.”

“For him to act as he did was rather shocking to everyone,” Johnson said of Zelensky, speaking to CNN. “Instead of showing gratitude, he interrupted & berated his hosts at a very perilous time for his country.”

#MikeJohnson also, however, described the #war in #Ukraine as “unjust” & called President Vladimir V. Putin of #Russia an “aggressor,” a departure from the friendly language that #Trump has used to describe #Putin. “I think Vladimir Putin is a an old-school communist,” Johnson said. “He’s not to be trusted, & he is dangerous.” He also said that #China, Russia, #Iran & #NorthKorea amount to “new Axis powers” & they “are not on America’s side.”

In another interview, on NBC’s Meet the Press, #Republican #House Speaker #MikeJohnson suggested that President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine should step down if he doesn’t sign #Trump’s deal [#extortion] on rare #minerals & agree to end the #war. “Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses & come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” Johnson said.