Keir Starmer rejects parts of Donald Trump's Ukraine plan ahead of crunch talks

Leaders held urgent crunch talks on Ukraine at the G20 summit in South Africa, where they rejected parts of US President Donald Trump's peace plan for the war-torn country

Ukraine must not be forced to give up land or cut its Army, Donald Trump has been warned.

International leaders held urgent crunch talks on Ukraine at the G20 summit in South Africa, where they rejected parts of the US President’s peace plan.

In a joint statement adopted by Keir Starmer and other G7 leaders - not including the US - they said Ukraine’s borders must not be changed “by force”.

Speaking to reporters in Johannesburg this evening, the Prime Minister said he is expecting to speak to Mr Trump shortly. “I’ll no doubt talk to him in the coming days,” he said. Mr Starmer is also expected to speak to Volodymyr Zelensky this evening.

The PM confirmed he has no plans to visit Washington DC, adding that the focus is on urgent talks in Geneva tomorrow. Officials from the US and Ukraine will hold urgent talks in Switzerland on Sunday, with the US president's special envoy Steve Witkoff and US secretary of state Marco Rubio to attend, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The UK’s National Security Adviser (NSA) Jonathan Powell will attend the Geneva talks after leaving the G20 summit early. His counterparts from France and Germany are also expected to attend.

Mr Trump has set Ukraine a strict deadline of November 27 - Thanksgiving in the US - to respond to his plan. Asked about the deadline, Mr Starmer told reporters he wanted peace to be secured “as soon as possible” but said all parties - including the EU and NATO - need to agree.

He said: “I think in order to get an agreement, you've got to get all the relevant parties to agree and that's essentially what the focus is on tomorrow, in addition to the obvious parties there's also the EU and NATO who are relevant to this.

“So all of that has to happen. Obviously, I think it should be done as soon as possible, but it's got to be a just and lasting peace, and so we've got to get it right. I think we'll be in a better position to know once the meeting in Geneva has taken place tomorrow, because that's the opportunity for the US Ukraine and European NSAs to go through quite a bit of detail.”

Mr Trump’s 28-point peace plan - leaked on Friday - includes an immediate ceasefire and Ukraine handing over the entirety of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk to Russia. The regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would be frozen along the existing lines of conflict. And Ukraine's army, currently at roughly 880,000 troops, would be reduced to 600,000.

But Mr Starmer - and allies from the Coalition of the Willing who are at the G20 - said they were “concerned” with the proposals. “We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force,” they said.

“We are also concerned by the proposed limitations on Ukraine’s armed forces, which would leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attack. We reiterate that the implementation of elements relating to the European Union and relating to NATO would need the consent of EU and NATO members respectively. We take this opportunity to underline the strength of our continued support to Ukraine.”

At the same time, they welcomed the plan and made clear some parts are essential to peace in the war-torn country. They added: “We welcome the continued US efforts to bring peace to Ukraine.

“The initial draft of the 28-point plan includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace. We believe therefore that the draft is a basis which will require additional work. We are ready to engage in order to ensure that a future peace is sustainable.”

Alongside the UK, the statement was issued by France, Germany, Japan, Canada, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Ireland, the EU Commission and EU Council.

President Zelensky, in a video address to his nation, said Ukrainian representatives at the talks in Switzerland "know how to protect Ukrainian national interests and exactly what is needed to prevent Russia from carrying out" another invasion. "Real peace is always based on security and justice," the Ukrainian leader added.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine faced "one of the most difficult moments" in its history, facing a choice between "losing its dignity or the risk of losing a key partner".

Mr Trump told Fox News Radio on Friday he wanted a response to the peace plan from Ukraine by Thursday, while suggesting an extension could be possible. He told reporters on Friday that Mr Zelensky is "going to have to approve it".

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who like Mr Trump is not attending the gathering of the world's leading economies, on Friday cautiously welcomed the US proposal, saying it "could form the basis of a final peace settlement".