Military Officials From 30 Countries to Convene in London to Discuss Peace in Ukraine
Senior military officials from about 30 countries will meet in London, UK, next week to discuss the future peace and security in Ukraine. This was announced by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, at a briefing following the meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing,’ The Guardian reports.
The meeting will be attended by countries that met online on 15 March in support of Kyiv.
‘We have agreed to accelerate our practical work in support of a potential deal, so we are now moving into the operational phase. Our military will meet on Thursday (20 March) this week here in the UK to develop strong and robust plans to support a peace deal and ensure Ukraine's future security,’ said Keir Starmer.
The United States will not be among the countries participating in the meeting, as well as at the online summit of leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 15 March. At the same time, the British prime minister stressed that the United States' involvement remains important for achieving peace in Ukraine.
‘I have made it clear that this needs to be done together with the United States. The position on doing it with the United States has not changed,’ he said.
In addition, Starmer expressed his belief that ‘sooner or later’ Russian President Vladimir Putin will be forced to sit down at the negotiating table and ‘start a serious discussion’, but he also stressed: ‘We cannot sit back and just wait for this to happen. We must keep moving forward and prepare for a peace that is secure and lasting.’
On 15 March, the British prime minister held an online meeting of the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’, whose participants agreed to help establish peace in Ukraine. It included representatives of the EU, NATO, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The meeting was also attended by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said afterwards that another meeting of partners in support of Ukraine could take place in about a week. According to him, it is important that such meetings are becoming ‘almost weekly’.
At the same time, according to Bloomberg, the UK and France are working on a plan to strengthen Ukraine's position in negotiations to end the war.
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