The Prime Minister has accused Vladimir Putin of ‘playing games’ by delaying a ceasefire deal.
Sir Keir Starmer said the Russian President was ‘not serious about peace’, evidenced by his apparent disregard for Donald Trump’s proposed ceasefire plan.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin on Friday of procrastinating ceasefire talks to enable Russia to make further advances on the front line.
And Putin has spoken of Russia’s advancement across ‘practically’ the whole front line, claiming his soldiers have surrounded thousands of Ukraine’s troops in Russia’s Kursk region.
‘We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal,’ Sir Keir said.
‘The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.
‘If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious and enduring peace.
‘If they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war.’
Keir Starmer (pictured on Thursday) has accused Vladimir Putin of ‘playing games’ in ceasefire talks
The Kremlin has rejected ceasefire proposals put forward by Ukraine and the US (Putin pictured in March)
The PM will host further talks on a peacekeeping force for Ukraine on Saturday.
He is expected to hold a video call with as many as 25 potential members of the ‘coalition of the willing’ – nations that have agreed to take part in a peace plan.
The meeting comes as Russia continues to resist proposals for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire put forward by Ukraine and the US earlier in the week.
While Putin has agreed to the ‘correct’ principle of a ceasefire, he insisted that it must come with a promise from Ukraine to abandon attempts to join Nato and give up control of Russia-controlled regions.
Sir Keir said: ‘Putin is trying to delay, saying there must be a painstaking study before a ceasefire can take place, but the world needs to see action, not a study or empty words and pointless conditions.
‘My message to the Kremlin could not be clearer: stop the barbaric attacks on Ukraine once and for all and agree to a ceasefire now.
‘Until then we will keep working around the clock to deliver peace.’
As the negotiations continued, Trump claimed he was ‘getting pretty good vibes’ from Russia on the prospect of a ceasefire.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump in a disaster meeting at the White House in February
Trump (pictured this month) said he had asked Moscow to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region
He said on Friday that he had asked Moscow to ‘spare’ the lives of Ukrainian soldiers who are ‘surrounded’ in Russia’s Kursk region.
The Ukrainian armed forces have firmly denied that their troops have been encircled in Kursk, where Kyiv staged an incursion last year in a bid to secure a bargaining chip for possible talks and change the dynamic of the conflict.
Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk have been urged to surrender by Putin after Trump urged Russia not to kill them.
Moscow has recaptured the vast majority of territory seized by Kyiv in its cross-border assault into Kursk last August, including in a rapid counteroffensive over the last week.
Putin insisted that Ukrainian forces in Kursk would be ‘guaranteed life and dignified treatment’ if they laid down their arms.
He said in a televised address: ‘We are sympathetic to President Trump’s call.
‘If they lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and dignified treatment.’
But he added: ‘In order to effectively implement the US president’s call, (there needs to be) a corresponding order from Ukraine’s military-political leadership to its military to lay down their arms and surrender.’
Zelensky (pictured on Wednesday) accused Putin of procrastinating ceasefire talks to enable Russia to make advances on the front line
Putin (pictured on Thursday) insisted Ukrainian troops in Kursk would be guaranteed life if they laid down their arms
During Saturday’s call hosted by Starmer, leaders will receive updates from countries regarding the aid they could provide.
G7 allies are united in calling for a ceasefire with ‘no conditions’ to halt the fighting in Ukraine in a bid to pile pressure on the Kremlin, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said.
Lammy demanded Russia accept a Ukraine ceasefire with ‘no conditions’ on Friday as he attended the summit in Canada.
But while a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers on Friday ‘reaffirmed’ support for Ukrainian sovereignty and emphasised the need for security guarantees, it stopped short of condemning Russia’s invasion or attributing acts of ‘aggression’ to Moscow.
It comes after Trump hinted on Friday that World War III could ‘very easily’ erupt and would prove to be ‘a war like no other’ involving nuclear weapons if peace talks over Ukraine failed.
Speaking to the Justice Department he said: ‘I think we have it, I think we have it, but this could lead to World War III, very easily, could very easily lead to World War III.
‘But I think we’re in pretty good shape, a lot better than where we were before we got involved.
‘That was heading into World War III territory. That would’ve been a war like no other because of nuclear weapons and other types of weapons that you don’t even wanna know about.’
David Lammy (pictured on Thursday) demanded Russia accept a Ukraine ceasefire with no conditions
The PM will host further talks on a peacekeeping force for Ukraine on Saturday (Pictured in 2024)
Amid the peace talks, Britain has been cast as public enemy number one in Russia as relations between Washington and Moscow appear to be thawing.
Furious rhetoric against London is ramping up at the same time as experts have warned that Putin could attack the UK.
The war of words has seen Russia’s intelligence agency label Britain a ‘warmonger’ and ‘perfidious Albion’, while top Kremlin officials have blamed Sir Keir and his government for trying to derail Trump’s efforts at a peace deal.
Meanwhile a diplomatic war is also being waged, with Moscow expelling a British Embassy official and the spouse of another diplomat after accusing them of spying – allegations London called ‘baseless’.
The head of Britain’s MI6 Secret Intelligence Service has warned that Moscow is using ‘staggeringly reckless’ sabotage methods on British soil.
And earlier this month three Bulgarians were found guilty of being part of a Russian spy unit operating in the UK.
