Starmer urges continued pressure on Putin for unconditional ceasefire
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on world leaders to keep up pressure on Vladimir Putin for an unconditional ceasefire.
As Sky News reports, he said this at the beginning of a video conference he convened, which was attended, in particular, by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"My feeling is, sooner or later he's [Putin] going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion," Starmer said.
"But we can't sit back and simply wait for that to happen. We have to keep pushing ahead, pushing forward, and preparing for peace - a peace that will be secure and that will last."
That means strengthening Ukraine's own defences, "being prepared to defend any deal ourselves through a coalition of the willing", and keeping "the pressure on Putin to come to the table".
