London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of failing to engage seriously with US efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.

According to Qatar News Agency, a statement from Downing Street revealed that Starmer asserted that Putin cannot be allowed to play games with the deal proposed by Trump. He added that the Kremlin’s outright dismissal of Trump’s ceasefire proposal demonstrates that Putin is not serious about peace.

Starmer further claimed that Putin is deliberately stalling a ceasefire, while he himself is working to secure commitments from key partner nations, particularly in Europe and NATO, on how they can contribute to supporting Ukraine. A virtual meeting on the matter is set to take place within the next few hours.

Notably, Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are leading efforts to form an alliance of nations committed to continuing support for Ukraine, following Trump’s direct negotiations with Moscow in February.

Both London and Paris stress the importance of forming this coalition, alongside continued U.S. support, to ensure security guarantees for Ukraine and to deter Putin from violating any ceasefire agreement. Additionally, both leaders have expressed willingness to deploy British and French troops to Ukraine, though it remains unclear whether other countries would follow suit.