Britain said on Monday that several proposals had been made for a truce in fighting between Ukraine and Russia, after France floated a plan for a one-month pause leading to peace talks, but United States President Donald Trump suggested his patience was running out.
European countries, led by Britain and France, are rallying around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and trying to hatch a peace plan and a truce that includes Kyiv after last week’s Oval Office rupture between Zelenskyy and Trump.
“There are clearly a number of options on the table,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer‘s spokesman said.
Peacekeeper Proposal
France, Britain and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire – something Moscow has already rejected – but say they would want support from the U.S., or a “backstop”.
Trump has reversed U.S. policy by opening talks with Moscow over the head of Ukraine and without consulting its other Western allies.
On Friday, he publicly harangued Zelenskyy to fall in line or see the U.S. cut off crucial military aid.
On Monday, the U.S. president responded angrily to an AP report quoting Zelenskiy as saying the end of the war is “very, very far away”.
“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.”
Zelenskyy says a ceasefire must carry explicit security guarantees from the West to ensure that Russia, which invaded Ukraine three years ago and holds about 20% of its land, does not attack again. Trump has refused to give any such guarantees.
Starmer hosted European leaders in London on Sunday and said they had agreed to draw up a peace plan to present to the U.S.
France Suggests One-Month Truce
In an interview on his way to the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of a one-month truce, though there was no immediate public endorsement from other allies.
“Such a truce on air, sea and energy infrastructure would allow us to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a truce,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
“And that’s when real peace negotiations could start.”
European ground troops would only be deployed to Ukraine in a second phase, Macron said in the interview, published in Le Figaro.
Zelenskyy, asked if he was aware of that proposal, told reporters in London: “I’m aware of everything.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
