Sir Keir Starmer has said that a ceasefire in Ukraine is only “viable” thanks to the actions of Donald Trump. Co-chairing a meeting of the “coalition of the willing’ - a European-led effort aimed at securing lasting peace in Ukraine - on Wednesday (13 August), the prime minister said the US president’s actions have provided a “chance” to end the war. He said: “For three and a bit years this conflict has been going on and we haven't got anywhere near the prospect of actually a viable solution of bringing it to a ceasefire. And now we do have that chance because of the work that the President has put in.” The meeting came ahead of high stakes “one-on-one” talks between Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday (15 August).

The call on Wednesday will include Sir Keir, Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, who will later be joined by the US President.

Il Primo Ministro britannico al “tele-vertice” di Berlino