Starmer to lead ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – as Macron says US plan needs work

Ukraine’s allies in the so-called coalition of the willing will hold a virtual meeting today, chaired by Sir Keir Starmer.

The prime minister said the alliance was focused on achieving a “just and lasting peace”.

It “matters for all of us, because the conflict in Ukraine has had a direct impact here in the UK”, he added.

Ahead of the meeting, Emmanuel Macron, a key member of the coalition, said the US-Russian peace plan needs improvement.

“What was put on the table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable for the Russians. Does that mean that it is what must be accepted by the Ukrainians and the Europeans? The answer is no,” the French president told RTL radio.

He said there were “aspects of that plan that deserve to be
discussed, negotiated, improved”.

“We want peace,
but we don’t want a peace that would be a capitulation.” 

He added that only the Ukrainians could decide what
territorial concessions they were ready to make and that their army could not be limited.

Europe alone would decide what to do with Russian assets frozen on the continent, he said.