Keir Starmer slams Vladimir Putin over 'not serious' move in Ukraine peace talks

Russia “voiced a number of things which we deem unacceptable” during Friday’s talks, the Ukrainian foreign minister’s spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters in Istanbul, adding that ’s delegation “handled it in a calm manner … still staying with our line.”

He did not expand on what those unacceptable things were. He said the Ukrainian delegation “was ready to have a ceasefire agreed today,” but this might not have been achievable because ’s low-level delegation “probably has [a] limited mandate.” Tykhyi said Ukraine is “grateful” for Turkey’s role in “presenting this opportunity, this platform, for the peace effort.” He added: “We value Turkish engagement and [its] role as a facilitator … that can really help bring an end to the war.”

Speaking to reporters in , criticised Putin’s refusal to attend the talks, claiming it showed a lack of commitment to resolving the conflict.

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“Well, I think that what we saw yesterday and overnight is yet more evidence that Putin is not serious about peace. He’s been dragging his heels, and I think it’s really important, therefore, that we have absolute unity with our allies,” he said.

Starmer emphasized the importance of ongoing international cooperation and reaffirmed the UK’s support for Ukraine.

“We’ll be working on that again today to be clear that there must be a cease fire, but also to be clear that should there not be a cease fire, then we will act together in relation to sanctions. But for me, this is clear evidence that Putin doesn’t seriously want peace,” he said.

Reiterating his stance, the prime minister added: “He’s dragging his heels, and that’s why today is a really important opportunity to work with colleagues to make sure that we are absolutely united. And President Zelenskyy will be here today, so we will be discussing the situation with him.”

Starmer has also said he and European allies spoke to Ukrainian President and on Friday to begin “closely aligning” a response to Russia’s “unacceptable” position in Ukraine peace talks.

Sir , Mr Zelensky and the leaders of France, Germany and Poland held a phone call with the US president to discuss “developments” in the negotiations on Friday, he said.

It came as Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met face to face for the first time since Moscow’s invasion. The talks in Istanbul lasted less than two hours and the sides agreed to the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war in 2022.

Sir Keir said the prisoner swap was “obviously a good thing” but that “we need to be really clear in putting the pressure on for a ceasefire”.

After the phone call, he told reporters in Tirana, Albania: “We just had a meeting with President Zelensky and then a phone call with President Trump to discuss the developments in the negotiations today.

“And the Russian position is clearly unacceptable, and not for the first time.

“So as a result of that meeting with President Zelensky and that call with President Trump we are now closely aligning our responses and will continue to do so.”