Sir Keir Starmer will be accompanying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington tomorrow for his crunch meeting with Donald Trump.
He will join European leaders including France’s president Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz after the US president reportedly extended an invitation to them.
Also set to attend the talk at the White House are NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
Read more: Why is Zelenskyy bringing a posse of leaders?
Mr Zelenskyy spoke to Mr Trump during his trip to Washington in February. Pic: Reuters
This comes after Vladimir Putin reportedly made demands to take control of the key eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine during his summit with Mr Trump as a condition for ending the war.
In exchange, Mr Putin would give up other Ukrainian territories held by his troops, according to several news reports citing sources close to the matter.
Mr Trump is said to be planning to urge Mr Zelenskyy to agree to the conditions as part of a peace deal to end the war, despite the Ukrainian president previously ruling out formally handing any territory to Moscow, as such a move would deprive Ukraine of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.
Russia already controls a fifth of Ukraine, including about three-quarters of Donetsk province, which it first entered in 2014.
Read more: The territory Ukraine could be told to surrender
Mr Putin and Mr Trump shake hands at the Alaska summit. Pic: AP
European leaders who make up the “coalition of the willing” are set to hold a conference call today ahead of the crunch talks between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy, which some coalition members are set to attend.
They are expected to discuss how to bring Mr Zelenskyy into talks after Mr Trump and Mr Putin’s meeting saw him left out in the cold.
In coordinated statements following the Alaska summit, European leaders said Mr Zelenskyy must play a greater role in future talks, and that peace cannot be achieved without him.
The US president said the Washington talk with Mr Zelenskyy could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the latest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
