By William James
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will on Sunday host leaders of Italy, Germany, Poland and other allies to discuss their response to Donald Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine that has forced a radical rethink of the continent’s security.
The U.S. president has seemingly abandoned the United States’ more Ukraine-friendly approach to Russia’s war, blindsiding much of Europe by telling them they must raise defence spending and take responsibility for their own security.
Sunday’s meeting comes shortly after Starmer returns from crunch talks with Trump in Washington, where the British leader is hoping his pledge to increase the defence budget will help preserve close relations between the two allies.
French President Emmanuel Macron met Trump earlier this week as part of European efforts to convince Trump not to rush a ceasefire deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, keep Europe and Ukraine involved and discuss military guarantees to Ukraine.
Starmer said on Tuesday he would host a number of countries “to continue to discuss how we go forward together as allies in light of the situation that we face.”
Starmer’s spokesman said on Wednesday it was too early to say who would be coming to the summit. European leaders, including Starmer, held an emergency meeting in Paris earlier this month where they discussed higher defence spending but were split on the idea of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he expected to join Starmer in London on Sunday. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are also expected to attend, and Dutch media reports said Prime Minister Dick Schoof would also be there.
Trump has opened talks with Russia on a deal to end the war and starkly criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In response, European leaders have stepped up diplomatic efforts to show a united front in support of Kyiv.
Nevertheless, tentative European plans for security guarantees to preserve any peace in Ukraine hinge on the United States being willing to provide an as-yet-undefined backstop to deter Russia from attacking again.
(Reporting by William James and Andrew MacAskill in London, additional reporting from European bureaux, editing by Christina Fincher)
