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The comments came ahead of a #summit in #London on Sunday, where #Starmer met w/ President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine & other European leaders to discuss the #war. The gathering took on greater urgency after Zelensky’s meeting w/ #Trump & #JDVance on Friday raised fears the US would try to strong-arm Ukraine’s president into making a #peace deal on whatever terms the Americans [#Putin] dictated.

#Starmer said that he, Pres #Zelensky & Pres #Macron of #France had agreed they “would work on a plan for stopping the fighting & then discuss that plan w/the US.” Any #peace agreement “is going to need a US backstop,” Starmer added, saying British & #US teams were discussing the idea.

Sunday’s #summit was first set up to inform European leaders about Starmer’s meeting w/ #Trump. But it gained new importance after Friday, making supporting #Ukraine & beefing up their defenses more critical.

#Britain on Saturday announced a nearly $3B loan to #Ukraine aimed at bolstering the #war-torn country’s #military capability. It will be paid back using profits generated on sanctioned Russian sovereign assets, & the first tranche of funding is expected to be disbursed to Ukraine next week, Britain’s Treasury said.

#Europe’s leaders pledged to assemble a European “coalition of the willing” to develop a plan for ending Ukraine’s war w/ #Russia, which they hope could win the backing of #Trump.

On Sunday in, #Europe wrapped Pres #Zelensky in a warm embrace. He won expressions of support from the 18 assembled leaders, including Pres #Macron of #France, Chancellor Olaf #Scholz of #Germany & PM #GiorgiaMeloni of #Italy. After meeting them, he was scheduled to visit #KingCharles III at his country estate, Sandringham, NE of London.

Yet behind the carefully choreographed show of solidarity, there was a recognition that keeping the #UnitedStates on board remains critical.

The #summit meeting has thrust #Starmer into an unaccustomed place for a British prime minister: at the heart of #Europe during a crisis. >8 years after the country voted to leave the #EU, the rapidly changing #security landscape is driving #Britain closer to the continent.

Catherine Ashton, a Briton who served as the EU’s high representative for #ForeignAffairs & security policy, said Starmer’s successful meeting w/ #Trump had reinforced his credentials as a leader for Europe.

“It is unsurprising that allies in #Europe are gathering in London this weekend & equally unsurprising that the #UK is being taken much more seriously in Brussels & capitals,” Ashton said.

And yet there are limits to #Starmer’s #diplomacy. He was unable to extract any #security guarantees from #Trump for #Ukraine, despite an exaggerated show of deference to the president. That included Starmer hand-delivering an invitation for a state visit from #KingCharles….

Sergey #Lavrov, #Russia’s foreign minister, said that #France Pres #Macron & PM #Starmer of #Britain were “impertinent” in proposing thousands of #peacekeeping troops for #Ukraine. “No one is asking us,” Lavrov said in an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda, the Russian state news agency #Tass reported on Sunday. Lavrov praised #Trump for “behaving correctly,” according to the report.

#Starmer of #Britain held a phone call w/ the leaders of #Estonia, #Latvia & #Lithuania – 3 countries that were not invited to attend Sunday’s #summit – in which he welcomed their support for #Ukraine, Starmer’s office said in a statement. “The Prime Minister updated them on his discussions with the leaders of Ukraine, #France & the #UnitedStates in recent days,” the statement said.

In addition to #Britain PM #Starmer & Presidents #Zelensky of #Ukraine & #Macron of #France, in attendance at the summit were, Chancellor Olaf #Scholz of #Germany & Prime Minister Justin #Trudeau of #Canada, Ursula #vonderLeyen, the president of the European Commission, #MarkRutte, the secretary general of #NATO, & #Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan #Fidan.

Kremlin’s spox, #DmitryPeskov praised the #Trump admin for changing its #ForeignPolicy in ways that “couldn’t have been imagined,” on the #war in #Ukraine.

“The new administration is fast changing all foreign policy configurations,” Peskov said, speaking to #Russia state television in comments recorded last Wednesday & released on Sunday [even before Friday’s debacle]. He added: “This coincides with our vision in many ways.”

Meanwhile in the #US…

#Republican #House Speaker #MikeJohnson defended #Trump’s & #JDVance’s conduct during the Oval Office meeting on Friday, saying that President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine “acted so inappropriately” & should have “shown more gratitude.”

“For him to act as he did was rather shocking to everyone,” Johnson said of Zelensky, speaking to CNN. “Instead of showing gratitude, he interrupted & berated his hosts at a very perilous time for his country.”

#MikeJohnson also, however, described the #war in #Ukraine as “unjust” & called President Vladimir V. Putin of #Russia an “aggressor,” a departure from the friendly language that #Trump has used to describe #Putin. “I think Vladimir Putin is a an old-school communist,” Johnson said. “He’s not to be trusted, & he is dangerous.” He also said that #China, Russia, #Iran & #NorthKorea amount to “new Axis powers” & they “are not on America’s side.”

In another interview, on NBC’s Meet the Press, #Republican #House Speaker #MikeJohnson suggested that President Volodymyr #Zelensky of #Ukraine should step down if he doesn’t sign #Trump’s deal [#extortion] on rare #minerals & agree to end the #war. “Something has to change. Either he needs to come to his senses & come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that,” Johnson said.

Senator #ChrisMurphy, #Democrat of CT and one of the most outspoken critics of the #Trump admin, told CNN on Sunday, that “it is absolutely shameful what is happening right now,” speaking about #Trump’s efforts to *end* the #war in #Ukraine.

“The White House has become an arm of the #Kremlin,” Murphy said. “The #WhiteHouse has been pretending as if Ukraine started this war. That’s essentially saying that #Poland invaded #Germany at the beginning of WWII. There are still #facts in this world.”

Sen #ChrisMurphy said he believed President #Zelensky of #Ukraine appropriately asked #Trump & #JDVance how they could reassure him that #Putin of #Russia would abide by the terms of a #ceasefire agreement. “It is a sad day in America when we are getting closer & closer to Russia, a brutal #dictatorship, & further & further away from #democratic #allies,” Murphy said.

Sen #ChrisMurphy also criticized Secretary of #State #MarcoRubio, his former #Senate colleague from Florida, for not opposing #Trump’s efforts to align #America with #Russia. “That’s been a great disappointment to many of his former colleagues in the Senate,” Murphy said of #Rubio.

Sen Chris #VanHollen, #Democrat of MD, told FoxNews on Sunday that he regretted voting to confirm his fmr colleague #MarcoRubio to be Sec of #State. Van Hollen said #Rubio used to acknowledge that #Russia was the aggressor in the #war against #Ukraine & would never have accused #Zelensky of being a #dictator as #Trump has. But since joining the admin, Rubio has adopted Trump’s talking points.

But since joining the admin, #MarcoRubio has adopted #Trump’s [#Russia’s] talking points. “As a member of the Senate, Secretary #Rubio was somebody who stood up for American values, American principles,” #VanHollen said. “Now he’s simply taking his directions at the State Dept from #ElonMusk & essentially parroting the president’s position.”

#VanHollen called Friday’s display in the Oval Office “a despicable display of bullying” by #Trump & #JDVance against #Zelensky. He also characterized the Trump admin’s rare #minerals deal as an “#extortion” of #Ukraine.

Secretary of #State #MarcoRubio has reiterated the #Trump admin’s attitude toward #Zelensky, saying that #Ukraine’s president had disrupted efforts toward a peace process w/ #Russia by challenging #JDVance in the Oval Office on Friday. Zelensky “found every opportunity to try to ‘Ukraine-splain’ on every issue,” Rubio said. [a. Ridiculous terminology. b. Someone had to]

Back to London…

#Starmer opened the #summit of #Europe’s leaders in London w/ #Macron & #Zelensky seated beside him. “We’re gathered here today because this is a once in a generation moment for the #security of Europe, & we all need to step up,” Starmer told the assembled leaders. “Getting a good outcome for #Ukraine is not just a matter of right & wrong, it’s vital for the security of every nation here & many others too.”