British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni held a phone conversation with United States President Donald Trump on Sunday evening about his upcoming call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Downing Street.
"They discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for President Putin to take peace talks seriously," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "They also discussed the use of sanctions if Russia failed to seriously participate in ceasefire and peace talks."
This marks the second consultation in three days between Starmer, European leaders, and the US President on strategies to approach Russia.
On Friday, Starmer, Macron, Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the European Political Community summit in Tirana (Albania). Afterwards, Starmer noted that Ukraine's allies were increasing pressure on Moscow to engage in negotiations.
Trump announced on Saturday that he would have a call with Putin on Monday regarding a ceasefire and ending the war in Ukraine.
Additionally, US Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy discussed the upcoming call on Sunday. This was the first meeting between Vance and Zelensky since their public clash at the White House in late February.
According to a senior official in Kyiv, the approximately 30-minute conversation – held on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV's inauguration Mass – proceeded "normally."
