LONDON: Britain and France have not agreed on a partial truce plan for Ukraine, a UK minister said on Monday, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s claim that the two nations had proposed such a deal.
Macron told France’s Le Figaro newspaper on Sunday that London and Paris are proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure”.
Macron said such a truce would not, initially at least, cover ground fighting.
“No agreement has been made on what a truce looks like,” UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio.
“But we are working together with France and our European allies to look at what is the path to how… we create a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine,” he added.
A UK government official also played down any agreement.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the person said: “There are various options on the table, subject to further discussions with the US and European partners but a one-month truce has not been agreed.”
Macron’s comments came after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened crisis talks over Ukraine with European leaders, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Canada in central London on Sunday.
“As the PM said in his press conference, we need and want to progress with momentum and are pleased today’s summit has enabled discussions to move forward. Those discussions will continue at pace,” said a Downing Street spokesperson.
Ukraine, EU allies discuss peace deal
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he would work with Europe to set terms for a possible peace deal to present to the United States, after allies gathered in London pledged to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce in Ukraine.
The weekend crisis talks, which brought together 18 allies, came at a delicate moment for war-battered Ukraine, facing uncertain US support and on the back foot against Russia’s three-year invasion.
Days earlier, US President Donald Trump berated Zelensky in front of reporters at the White House, heightening fears he intends to force Kyiv into a peace deal that gives Russian President Vladimir Putin what he wants.
But European leaders closed ranks in support of Kyiv, with Zelensky saying afterwards the summit cemented their commitment to work towards peace.
“We need peace, not endless war,” he said on Telegram.
“In the near future, all of us in Europe will shape our common positions — the lines we must achieve and the lines we cannot compromise on,” he added.
“These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States.”
Starmer likewise said that Britain, France “and others” would work with Ukraine on a plan to stop the fighting, which they would then put to Washington.
Partial Ukraine truce deal
And French President Emmanuel Macron, flying back from the summit, told Le Figaro newspaper that France and Britain wanted to propose a partial one-month truce “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure”.
Starmer and Macron have said they are prepared to deploy British and French troops to Ukraine to help preserve any truce.
With no guarantee of US involvement, “Europe must do the heavy lifting”, Starmer said.
Macron told Le Figaro that a truce would not, initially at least, cover ground fighting.
The problem was that it would be very difficult to enforce given the size of the front line, he said.
Peacekeepers would be deployed at a later date, he said, adding: “There won’t be European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks.”
Macron also suggested that European countries should raise their defence spending to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent of GDP to respond to Washington’s shifting priorities and Russia’s militarisation.
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While recently reinaugurated Trump has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky, his approach has sidelined Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with the Russian leader.
This shift was on full display at the Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, who Trump accused of not being grateful enough for US aid and not being “ready” for peace with Russia.
Starmer, who had met Trump just days earlier, insisted the United States was “not an unreliable ally”. Any deal “must have strong US backing” to succeed, he said.
But after the leaders gathered on Sunday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned the continent urgently had to rearm to “prepare for the worst”.
And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for the United States and Europe to show Putin “that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression”.
On Sunday, Trump dismissed concerns over his closeness with Russia, saying the United States should worry “less” about Putin and more about domestic crime.
