Putin will have to ‘come to the table’: UK PM

LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday said Russian President Vladimir Putin would “sooner or later” have to “come to the table” as he opened a virtual gathering to drum up support for Ukraine.

“My feeling is that sooner or later, he’s going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion,” Starmer told about 25 fellow leaders who joined the virtual summit.

The talks hosted in a call set up by Downing Street aim to urge participating countries to sign up to a coalition willing to protect any eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.

Starmer told allies the meeting would focus on three points “strengthening Ukraine, being prepared to defend any deal ourselves through a coalition of the willing and keeping that pressure on Russia at this crucial time”.

He said Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky had shown that Ukraine was the “party of peace because he has agreed to and committed to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire”.

“Putin is the one trying to delay… if Putin is serious about peace, I think it’s very simple, he has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire, and the world is watching,” he added.

Turkey has indicated it could play a part in peacekeeping efforts, while Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said Irish troops would not be deployed in any “deterrent force”.

NATO chief Mark Rutte and European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa are also expected to take part, along with the leaders of Germany, Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Romania, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, however, was not expected to attend. She has already rejected the idea of sending Italian troops to Ukraine.