Zelensky due at Downing Street for high-level Ukraine talks

7 hours agoPaul SeddonandRachel Muller-HeyndykReutersPresident Volodymyr Zelensky will meet key European leaders in London on Monday, as Ukraine's allies plan their response to an ongoing US push for Kyiv to accept concessions in peace talks.The leaders of France and Germany will join Zelensky and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at No 10 as they seek to ensure any deal deters a future Russian attack.The high-level meeting follows three days of talks in Florida, where Zelensky's chief negotiator pushed for changes to a White House plan widely considered to accommodate central Kremlin demands.The US and Ukraine said there was progress but US President Donald Trump appeared to criticise Zelensky on Sunday, saying he "hasn't read" the draft.Trump told reporters that he was "a little disappointed that President Zelensky hasn't yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago".He continued: "His people love it... [Russia] would rather have the whole country when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it - but I'm not sure that Zelensky is fine with it."Trump appeared to be referring to the latest draft of the proposed peace deal, which was revised in Miami following talks led by Zelensky's new chief negotiator Rustem Umerov, and Trump's close aides, special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.Around the same time as Trump's comments on Sunday, Zelensky said he was due to be briefed on the negotiations by Umerov either in London or Brussels, adding "some issues can only be discussed in person" as opposed to over the phone.Zelensky added that discussions with Witkoff and Kushner were "constructive, though not easy". Watch: Trump 'disappointed' Zelensky hasn't read peace proposal yetMonday's talks in London will feature Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who represent the three Nato nations with the largest military budgets in real terms, with the exception of the US.Downing Street said the meeting would "focus on the ongoing peace negotiations and next steps", while UK cabinet minister Pat McFadden said it would explore ways to ensure Ukraine is "able to decide its own future".He said there needed to be meaningful security guarantees in the event of a peace deal, not a "toothless organisation".The UK and France have led talks to assemble a so-called coalition of the willing - also referred to as the Multinational Force Ukraine - in order to offer future defence support, including a possible reassurance force deployed in the country. It is not yet clear what functions it would perform, though diplomatic sources have previously indicated it would not be used to police a ceasefire line, and would differ to a peacekeeping force in the sense that it would not be classed as impartial. Germany and other European defence players, including Italy and Poland, have pledged forms of defence assistance, but have expressed scepticism about the prospect of putting troops on the ground inside Ukraine - a proposal the Kremlin has said it would consider an escalation. The White House has been pushing Kyiv and Moscow to swiftly agree to a multi-point plan to end the war. But there has been little sign of a breakthrough, including after Witkoff held five hours of in-person talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.As well as security guarantees, negotiations remain particularly fraught around the issue of territorial concessions. The US has proposed Ukraine pulls its forces entirely out of eastern regions which Russia has attempted to take by force but has been unable to capture in full, in return for Russian withdrawals elsewhere and a cessation of fighting. Speaking on Sunday, Trump's outgoing special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg also singled out talks around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as being particularly complex. Intense fighting has raged at times around the facility, which is the largest in Europe and currently under Russian control. A leaked early draft of the US-backed peace plan proposed splitting the energy it generates in the future between Ukraine and Russia.Kellogg told an event in California that a deal was close but talks on those elements were continuing, adding: "If we get those two issues settled, I think the rest of the things will work out fairly well."ReutersThe fate of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (pictured in August 2022) is a sticking point in negotiations to end the war, a US official saidThe talks in London are the latest attempt by Ukraine's European allies to carve out a role in the US-led efforts to end the war, which they fear will undercut the long-term interests of the continent in favour of a quick resolution.European leaders have pushed back against early versions of the US-led peace plan, which has been revised after criticism it was too favourable towards Russia.Despite massive economic pressure and battlefield losses, the Kremlin has shown little sign it is willing to compromise on its key demands, including ruling out any future path to Ukraine joining the Nato military alliance.Last week, Putin also restated his willingness to continue fighting until his forces take full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which they currently control around 85% of.Elsewhere, the Kremlin has responded favourably to the White House's updated National Security Strategy, a document which sets out the administration's foreign policy views.It says the US should prioritise improving relations between Europe and Russia in order to "mitigate the risk" of a wider conflict, as well as setting out a critical view of the continent's policies on the economy, migration and liberty, which the White House says has led Europe to the point of "civilisational erasure".The Kremlin said the strategy was "largely consistent" with its own vision and was a "positive step" forward.