Sir Keir Starmer has ‘commended’ Donald Trump and claimed that the American President has ‘brought us closer than ever before’ to peace – despite the Putin summit ending with no deal.
In a love-bomb statement released today, the Prime Minister commended Donald Trump’s ‘pursuit of an end to the killing’ – but said the ‘path to peace in Ukraine’ cannot be decided without Volodymyr Zelensky.
‘President Trump’s efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,’ Starmer said. ‘His leadership in pursuit of an end to the killing should be commended.
‘While progress has been made, the next step must be further talks involving President Zelensky. The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without him.’
Starmer confirmed that he spoke to Trump, Zelensky and ‘other European partners’ this morning, adding ‘we all stand ready to support this next phase’.
He added: ‘I welcome the openness of the United States, alongside Europe, to provide robust security guarantees to Ukraine as part of any deal. This is important progress and will be crucial in deterring Putin from coming back for more.
‘In the meantime, until he stops his barbaric assault, we will keep tightening the screws on his war machine with even more sanctions, which have already had a punishing impact on the Russian economy and its people.
‘Our unwavering support for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes.’
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer released a statement today praising Trump’s efforts (Pictured: Starmer during a meeting with Trump in Scotland in July)
‘President Trump’s efforts have brought us closer than ever before to ending Russia ‘s illegal war in Ukraine,’ Starmer said. (Pictured: Trump during a meeting with Starmer in Scotland in July)
It comes after the US President’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska ended with no deal
The Prime Minister’s gushing statement comes after Zelensky announced he will fly to Washington on Monday to meet with Trump.
The Ukrainian President said he had been invited to the White House after a ‘long and substantive’ conversation with Trump which lasted for more than 90 minutes and later involved European leaders.
The call included Starmer, representatives from Italy, France, Finland, Germany and Poland, as well as Nato’s Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission.
Zelensky said Ukraine was reaffirming ‘its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace’ after hearing the details of Trump and Putin’s three-hour discussion in Alaska.
‘It is important that America’s strength has an impact on the development of the situation,’ the Ukrainian President said.
‘We support President Trump’s proposal for a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the USA, and Russia. Ukraine emphasizes that key issues can be discussed at the level of leaders, and a trilateral format is suitable for this.
‘On Monday, I will meet with President Trump in Washington, D.C., to discuss all of the details regarding ending the killing and the war. I am grateful for the invitation.
‘It is important that Europeans are involved at every stage to ensure reliable security guarantees together with America.
Zelensky has announced he will fly to Washington on Monday to meet with Trump
The call between Zelensky and Trump involved Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as European leaders ramp up efforts to end the conflict (Pictured: Starmer and Zelensky at Downing Street in August 2025)
‘We also discussed positive signals from the American side regarding participation in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. We continue to coordinate our positions with all partners. I thank everyone who is helping.’
Zelensky’s last visit to Washington earlier this year resulted in a blistering shouting match which saw the US President accuse him of ‘gambling with World War III’.
The two leaders were then seen two months later in deep discussions at the funeral of Pope Francis in the middle of St Peter’s Basilica.
Monday’s meeting will be their first face-to-face meeting in the White House since.
After the Alaska meeting with Putin failed to result in a peace or ceasefire deal, Trump told Fox News that the onus to get a deal done now fell on Zelensky’s shoulders.
‘Now it’s really up to President Zelensky to get it done,’ he told the broadcaster.
‘They’re going to set up a meeting now between President Zelensky and President Putin and myself, I guess.’
Media outlets in Ukraine reacted poorly to the announcement that there had been no deal struck, with the Kyiv Independent branding it ‘sickening, shameful and in the end, useless’.
Zelensky’s last meeting with Trump in Washington resulted in a blistering shouting match
The two leaders were then seen in deep discussions at the funeral of Pope Francis in the middle of St Peter’s Basilica this April
They wrote: ‘On our screens, a blood-soaked dictator and war criminal received a royal welcome in the land of the free – as his attack drones headed for our cities.
‘In the lead-up to the meeting in Alaska, Trump declared he wanted a ‘ceasefire today’ and that Putin would face ‘severe consequences’ if he didn’t go for it.
‘Yet after a two and a half hour closed-door meeting, Trump and Putin emerged to share… nothing.’
Dmitry Medvedev, former president and premier of Russia, claimed the Alaska summit had been ‘calm, without ultimatums or threats’.
‘The President of Russia personally and in detail outlined to the President of the United States our conditions for ending the conflict in Ukraine,’ he said.
‘Following almost three hours of talks, the head of the White House refused to escalate pressure on Russia. At least for now.’
It comes as the conflict continued overnight, with a 72-year-old dying and two women aged 59 and 48 wounded as Russian forces struck border region Sumy.
A 64-year-old civilian was also injured in an attack on Zaporizhzhia which faced 125 artillery strikes.
Putin and Trump’s press conference lasted approximately 12 minutes – and no deal was made
Dmitry Medvedev claimed the Alaska summit had been ‘calm, without ultimatums or threats’
While Putin was meeting with Trump, his troops attacked Ukraine with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 85 military drones.
However, Russian controlled territory was also hit by the failure to agree a ceasefire.
An 18-year-old woman was seen on footage being pulled from rubble in the occupied Donetsk region after a strike by Ukrainian armed forces caused a floor slab to collapse onto her – leaving the woman with two broken legs.
Russia claimed it had shot down 29 Ukrainian drones overnight, with investigators also probing an explosion at a weapons and missile plant in Ryazan.
The toll has reached 11 dead with 130 wounded in the key Russian munitions plant.
