Zelenskyy meets Starmer, Macron, Merz in UK – DW – 12/09/2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has briefed both EU and NATO leaders on the status of talks with the US about a possible peace plan to bring an end to the war with Russia. 

“Our positions have been aligned on all issues. We are acting in a coordinated and constructive manner,” he wrote on the social media platform X late on Monday after the meetings. 

The Ukrainian leader met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. 

It followed talks in London with German President Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Following that meeting, Zelenskyy once again reiterated that any territorial concessions to Russia, which is a key element of the US plan for ending the war, remain off the board for him.

According to the Ukrainian leader, a revised version of the plan will be sent to Washington by Tuesday.

In any peace deal with Russia, Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected and its security guaranteed for the long term, stressed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

The two EU institution chiefs shared this message on social media after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels.

“Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defense for our Union,” von der Leyen and Costa emphasized in identical posts.

The tricky subject of how Europe can potentially best use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine was discussed in the London talks.

Downing Street said there has been “positive progress” in discussions on how to use these assets to help Ukraine’s reconstruction.

“They also discussed positive progress made to use immobilised Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s reconstruction,” Downing Street said in a statement.

“The leaders all agreed that now is a critical moment and that we must continue to ramp up support to Ukraine and economic pressure on Putin to bring an end to this barbaric war,” the statement said, adding that the leaders had agreed “to keep in touch.”

Ukriane’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv had neither the legal or the moral right to hand over territory to Russia in any deal seeking to end the war.

“Do we envision ceding territories? We have no legal right to do so, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law. And we don’t have any moral right either,” Zelensky said during an online press conference. 

Washington’s initial plan involved Ukraine ceding land that Russia has not been able to seize on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine was short this year of about $800 million (€687 million) in order to buy US weapons with the help of European allies.

Zelenskyy stressed that next year, Ukraine would need $15 billion for the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL program.

Germany’s top diplomat has said China should use its leverage with Russia to get it to negotiate seriously over ending its invasion of Ukraine, accusing Moscow of wanting to “impose maximum demands under the pretext of being willing to talk.” 

“If there is one country in the world that has a strong influence on Russia, it is China,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing.

“We hope, we expect that China will use this influence,” he added.

China has insisted throughout the war in Ukraine that it takes a neutral position to the conflict but has faced accusations from the West of backing Russia’s aggression, among other things by buying Russian oil.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he is skeptical about some elements contained in peace proposals for Ukraine as he joined the Ukrainian, British and French leaders for talks in London.

““We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he said. “The coming days could be a decisive time for all of us.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in his turn that efforts toward ending the conflict in Ukraine were at a “critical stage, ” while stressing the need for “a just and lasting ceasefire.”

Many European leaders have criticized previous proposals put forward by the US as favoring maximalist demands from the aggressor in the conflict, Russia.

Interceptor drones have proved to be a game-changer in Ukraine’s defense against Russian attacks.

These low-cost drones have destroyed over 1,000 Russian Shahed and other drones in just four months.

French President Emmanuel Macron says talks in London with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky were aimed at finding common ground between US, European and Ukrainian allies on a possible peace deal to end Russia’s invasion.

“I think the main issue is the convergence between our common positions, Europeans and Ukrainians and the US to finalise these peace negotiations”, Macron said.

All parties could then move to a “new phase” in which they would aim to secure “the best possible conditions for Ukraine, for the Europeans and for collective security,” he added.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London on Monday ahead of talks with allies about a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

Zelenskyy arrived shortly after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron were seen arriving for the meeting.

The four leaders are meeting amid tensions between the US and Europe, with Washington pushing for a deal to end the war without including the EU’s conditions.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is hosting talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his official residence in Brussels, NATO said in a brief statement. 

EU chiefs Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen are also attending the meeting, the statement added. 

Zelenskyy, who’s first in London before heading to the Belgian capital, had said that his talks European leaders this week would focus on security, air defense and long-term funding for Ukraine’s security.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will on Monday be briefed on recent talks between his team and US officials and receive all documents connected with the peace proposals that were discussed, senior Ukrainian Rustem Umerov said.

In a statement on X, Umerov also said that Kyiv’s negotiating team focused at the talks on gaining full information of discussions held in Moscow by US representatives and all drafts of current proposals to end Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“Together with all partners, we must do everything possible for a dignified end to this war,” he said.

As noted previously in this blog, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday night that he was “a little bit disappointed” Zelenskyy hadn’t yet read the proposal.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged further support to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s aggression during a phone call ahead of his meeting with other European leaders.

Meloni accused Moscow of a “new series of indiscriminate attacks” against “Ukrainian civilian targets,” according to a statement released by her office. She also assured the delivery of additional supplies, including generators.

The phone call served as an assurance, as Meloni will not take part in Monday’s meeting. Those in attendance include British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock has said Ukraine should not have to cede any territory in a peace deal with Russia.

Germany’s former foreign minister warned that rewarding Russia’s aggression by agreeing to giving up territory would only lead to more war.

“You condemn an act of aggression, you do not reward it. Those who reward aggression will reap more war instead of peace,” she said in comments published on Sunday by Germany’s Funke media group.

Russia is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from the eastern Donbas region, large parts of which are occupied by Moscow’s forces.

Ukraine has refused to accept those terms, despite increasing US pressure to agree to a deal.

Baerbock refused to discuss what role the UN might play in enforcing a potential ceasefire. 

“First, there must be a ceasefire and a peace agreement, then we can discuss how it can be enforced,” she said. “But for that, Russia would have to be willing to end the war first.”

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is traveling to Washington DC on Monday to meet with her US counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The meeting comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine pick up pace, although negotiations remain deadlocked.

Cooper’s trip coincides with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosting the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine in Downing Street.

It is the first time Cooper is visiting the US capital since being named the UK’s chief diplomat in September.

Cooper is also expected to discuss the ceasefire in Gaza and the conflict in Sudan during her talks with Rubio.

US President Donald Trump suggested that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not read an American proposal for peace in Ukraine.

US mediators met last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin to present its proposal, which included revisions after talks with European officials.

“So we’ve been speaking to President Putin and we’ve been speaking to Ukrainian leaders — including Zelenskyy, President Zelenskyy — and I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night.

Trump’s remarks came a day after talks between US and Ukrainian officials, in which Zelenskyy also took part, concluded after three days without a breakthrough.

Moscow has also rejected aspects of Washington’s proposal.