NATO, EU, other leaders agree to provide security guarantee for Ukraine peace deal

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Leaders from more than a dozen countries, including Canada, agreed at a summit in London to create a “coalition of the willing” to provide security guarantees for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted the one-day summit on Sunday. It involved leaders from NATO, the European Commission and 16 countries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Mr. Starmer said the leaders agreed to keep military aid flowing to Ukraine and that any lasting peace agreement must ensure Ukraine’s security. He also said Ukraine must be a participant in any peace negotiations and that Western countries must boost Ukraine’s defence capabilities to ensure it can fend off any future Russian invasion.

He added that Britain has agreed to contribute troops and several other countries have also offered to participate. Canada has not committed to joining such a mission.

“We will go further to develop a coalition of the willing to defend a deal in Ukraine and to guarantee the peace,” he said. “Not every nation will feel able to contribute, but that can’t mean that we sit back. Instead, those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency.”

The aim of the summit was to demonstrate a united front for Ukraine, both militarily and diplomatically. All of the leaders also went out of their way to show their support for Mr. Zelensky in the wake of his tumultuous meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. That meeting ended with Mr. Zelensky being ushered out of the White House after he was berated by Mr. Trump for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. military support.

Mr. Trudeau would not specifically commit to sending Canadian troops as part of a peacekeeping mission, but he said Canada’s military was willing to play a role.

“Every step of the way, Canada has looked at the ways it can best help. And as I’ve said a few days ago, everything is on the table,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters after the summit. “We know that the Canadian military has ways that it can contribute. We’re not going to get ahead of the discussions on how to keep a peace that isn’t yet in place, but Canada will be there and is open to doing what is necessary, but those will be decisions taken in the coming years by Canadians.”

Mr. Trump has wavered on whether he believes a peace agreement is possible, and he has insisted that Europe should provide any security guarantee. He has also been highly critical of Mr. Zelensky and far more positive about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interest in stopping the fighting.

That has unnerved European leaders, and Sunday’s meeting was an attempt to mollify Mr. Trump by demonstrating that European countries have a role to play and that they will provide a backstop to a peace deal. Although the summit was planned before the White House debacle on Friday, it took on a new urgency as Mr. Trump made clear his pro-Kremlin position.

After the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe “urgently needed to rearm.” Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary-General, added that a European presence in Ukraine will be needed to deter Russia.

Mr. Starmer said that Britain and France will lead a European effort to produce a more specific plan, which will be presented to Mr. Trump. He said that he spoke to the U.S. President on Saturday about the proposal.

“I’m not going to go through the details of that conversation, but I would not be taking this step down this road if I didn’t think it was something that would yield a positive outcome in terms of ensuring that we move together – Ukraine, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. – together towards a lasting peace,” he said Sunday.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, French President Emmanuel Macron said he and Mr. Starmer have suggested a one-month pause in the fighting “in the air, on the seas, and on energy infrastructure” in order to gain time to de-escalate the war. He added that policing a longer ceasefire would be difficult given the length of the front line.

Several countries have also announced plans to boost defence spending. Last week, Mr. Starmer pledged to increase Britain’s military spending from 2.3 per cent of gross domestic product to 2.5 per cent by 2027 and to 3 per cent within the next decade. On Sunday, Mr. Starmer announced a £1.6-billion ($2.9-billion) financial package for Ukraine that will allow Kyiv to buy more than 5,000 air-defence missiles.

Canada has yet to meet the NATO threshold of spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence, but Mr. Trudeau said the government is on track to meet the target by 2030. “But we understand we all need to do more, and we are busy doing more,” he added.

Mr. Trudeau also offered staunch support for Mr. Zelensky in his dust-up with Mr. Trump. “On Friday in the Oval Office, President Zelensky pointed out in so many words that Vladimir Putin is a liar and a criminal and cannot be trusted to keep his word in any way, shape or form, because he has demonstrated time and time again that he will break any agreements,” he said. “I stand with Volodymyr Zelensky.”

Mr. Trudeau also hinted that when he meets King Charles on Monday, they will discuss the importance of protecting Canadian sovereignty given Mr. Trump’s desire to annex Canada. “We will discuss matters of importance to Canada and to Canadians, and I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation,” he said.

Mr. Zelensky met King Charles at the royal estate in Sandringham on Sunday after the summit.

On the street outside Lancaster House, where the summit took place, Zak Herych, a Ukrainian-Canadian, stood with his girlfriend Sofiia Vystoropska, who fled the Ukrainian city of Sumy shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion. They were both draped in Ukrainian flags and came with several dozen others to show their support for Mr. Zelensky and their homeland.

“This has been a really hard time and Ukraine needs more support. Ukraine needs more support from the Western world,” Mr. Herych said. He didn’t want to talk about Mr. Zelensky’s argument with Mr. Trump, but said, “Americans need to get back to their senses with regards to the reality.”