The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland made their first-ever joint visit to Kyiv on Saturday, in an effort to underscore their support for Ukraine and reinforce calls for Russia to agree to a 30-day cease-fire.
During a trip intended to showcase European unity, France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, the new German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and the British and Polish prime ministers, Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, arrived in Kyiv early Saturday to hold talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
The visit to Ukraine is the first for Mr. Merz as German chancellor, and is the first time leaders of four European nations have traveled together to Ukrainian soil.
It also comes one day after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia welcomed the presidents of China and Brazil, among other international officials, to Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany with a military parade, intended to place Russia at the vanguard of a rising, non-Western world order.
Ahead of the visit, the four European nations voiced support for President Trump’s call, first made in March, for a 30-day cease-fire in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine agreed to Mr. Trump’s proposal, but Russia has pushed instead for negotiating the terms of a settlement before any sustained pause in hostilities.
“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” the four countries said in a joint statement issued late Friday. “Alongside the U.S., we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day cease-fire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”
The latest European initiative comes after Mr. Trump said on Thursday that the United States would impose sanctions on Russia if it did not accept an extended cease-fire.
The trip’s aim, the four leaders said, was to demonstrate “solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s barbaric and illegal full-scale invasion.” They added: “Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognized borders for generations to come.”
The leaders also plan to hold a virtual meeting with other Western heads of government to update them on plans, promoted by Mr. Macron and Mr. Starmer, to try to create a “coalition of the willing” to help secure Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia.
Despite their show of unity, those talks on constructing the coalition of the willing have lost momentum, with no sign of an imminent peace agreement and uncertainty about what role European countries could play in it if there was one.
Discussions have included the possibility of a limited deployment of Western forces to Ukraine, but many nations do not want to make clear commitments without knowing the conditions of any peace deal. Mr. Starmer has said he would be willing to send British troops to Ukraine, but only if the United States provides a security backstop — something Mr. Trump has shown little sign of promising.
In their statement, the four European nations described the talks as now being focused on “a future coalition of an air, land, maritime and regeneration force that would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace.”
The Europeans said they were ready ”to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the cease-fire, and prepare for a full peace deal.”
In an online address to a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force member states in Oslo on Friday, Mr. Zelensky said, “We need this Coalition — and we need it to be strong enough to guarantee security the way we all agree on.”
“Moscow should accept the cease-fire,” he said, “because that’s the only way real peace can start.”
