- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has declared a “coalition of the willing” would come together to draw up a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine and present it to United States President Donald Trump for his support, days after a public spat between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House signaled a rupture in Washington’s support for Kyiv.
- By contrast, Zelenskyy received assurances of support on Sunday from his European allies at a security summit in London hurriedly arranged by Starmer, who greeted the Ukrainian leader with a hug.
Russia-Ukraine war: What’s a ‘coalition of the willing’, Europe’s new plan?
Unlike a binding international body like the European Union or NATO, a coalition of the willing comprises countries who voluntarily or willingly join in.
- European leaders have not divulged details of what this peace plan would entail.
Before the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron told Le Figaro newspaper that the UK and France want to propose a one-month ceasefire pausing sea and air attacks as well as attacks on energy infrastructure.
France and the UK have also indicated they are open to sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine as part of any ceasefire.
However, on Sunday, leaders or representatives of 12 European nations joined Starmer at the security summit in London. They were:
Zelenskyy, Macron, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte were also at the summit.
After the security summit, Starmer said participants had agreed on four points:
- European leaders are willing to join forces and devise a peace plan for Ukraine to present to the US.
- “This is not a moment for more talk. It’s time to act, time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace,” the United Kingdom leader said.
- Any lasting peace effort must uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty, and Ukraine needs to be at the negotiating table.
- Starmer and other European leaders pledged to continue the flow of military aid to Ukraine.
- If a peace deal is reached, Ukraine’s defense capabilities will be bolstered.
- “In the event of a peace deal, we will keep boosting Ukraine’s own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasions,” the British prime minister said.
Starmer also announced a new 1.6-billion-pound ($2bn) deal with Ukraine on Sunday, which will allow Kyiv to spend the amount in export finance on 5,000 air defense missiles.
What is a coalition of the willing?
- The coalition that Starmer announced appears to have as its first task the formation of a plan to end the war in Ukraine that offers security guarantees to Kyiv but is palatable to Trump – who has made it clear that the US or NATO will not offer any such security umbrella.
- It is unclear whether Starmer also meant that the coalition would take charge of implementing future security guarantees or whether member states would put boots on the ground in Ukraine for this.
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Can a coalition of the willing work without the US at its heart?While the coalition can come up with a peace plan, both Zelenskyy and Starmer have acknowledged that they need US backing for the execution of a potential peace plan.
Zelenskyy said during one of his nightly video addresses:
- “There will be diplomacy for the sake of peace,” adding it will be “for the sake of us all being together – Ukraine, all of Europe and definitely, definitely America”.
“To support peace in our continent and to succeed, this effort must have strong US backing,” Starmer said after the summit.
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