Putin’s Response to Ceasefire Is ‘Not Good Enough’, British PM Starmer Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to a ceasefire is “not good enough,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Saturday, adding that European nations and Western allies were stepping up preparations to support Ukraine in the event a peace deal was struck with Russia, foreign media reported.

Starmer hosted a virtual meeting to gain support from allies in hopes it would help mount pressure on Putin to accept a ceasefire agreement being pushed by US President Donald Trump.

With plans for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine moving into an “operational phase”,  the UK prime minister had said that military chiefs would meet in the UK on Thursday.

“We agreed to accelerate our practical work to support a potential deal. So, we will now move into an operational phase. Our militaries will meet on Thursday this week here in the United Kingdom to put strong and robust plans in place to swing in behind a peace deal and guarantee Ukraine’s future security,” Starmer told a press conference in Downing Street.

Stressing that the participating members “agreed that now the ball was in Russia’s court”, Starmer reportedly said, “President Putin must prove he is serious about peace, and sign up to a ceasefire on equal terms.”

“The Kremlin’s dithering and delay over President Trump’s ceasefire proposal and Russia’s continued barbaric attacks on Ukraine run entirely counter to President Putin’s stated desire for peace”, PA news agency quoted the British PM as saying.

Underlining that “robust and credible security arrangements” were the best way to ensure that any deal ends in a lasting peace, Starmer further said, “We agreed military planners would convene again in the UK this week to progress practical plans for how our militaries can support Ukraine’s future security.”

“We will build up Ukraine’s own defenses and armed forces, and be ready to deploy as a ‘coalition of the willing’ in the event of a peace deal, to help secure Ukraine on the land, at sea and in the sky,” he added.

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