LONDON

(L-R) Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France’s President Emmanuel Macron embrace after holding a meeting during a summit at Lancaster House in central London on March 2, 2025

France and Britain have not agreed on a partial truce plan for Ukraine, a U.K. minister said on Monday, after French President Emmanuel Macron said it had been proposed by the two nations.

Macron told France’s Le Figaro newspaper on Sunday that London and Paris are proposing a one-month truce in Ukraine “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure”.

Macron said such a truce would not, initially at least, cover ground fighting.

“No agreement has been made on what a truce looks like,” U.K. armed forces minister Luke Pollard told Times Radio.

“But we are working together with France and our European allies to look at what is the path to how… we create a lasting and durable peace in Ukraine,” he added.

A U.K. government official also played down any agreement.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the person said: “There are various options on the table, subject to further discussions with the U.S. and European partners but a one-month truce has not been agreed.”

Macron’s comments came after U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened crisis talks over Ukraine with European leaders, NATO chief Mark Rutte and Canada in central London on Sunday.

“As the PM said in his press conference, we need and want to progress with momentum and are pleased today’s summit has enabled discussions to move forward. Those discussions will continue at pace,” said a Downing Street spokesperson.

 Zelensky said Monday he would work with Europe to set terms for a possible peace deal to present to the United States, after allies gathered in London pledged to spend more on security and assemble a coalition to defend any truce in Ukraine.

The weekend crisis talks, which brought together 18 allies, came at a delicate moment for war-battered Ukraine, facing uncertain U.S. support and on the back foot against Russia‘s three-year invasion.

Days earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump berated Zelensky in front of reporters at the White House, heightening fears he intends to force Kiev. into a peace deal that gives Russian President Vladimir Putin what he wants.

But European leaders closed ranks in support of Kiev., with Zelensky saying afterwards the summit cemented their commitment to work towards peace.

“We need peace, not endless war,” he said on Telegram.

“In the near future, all of us in Europe will shape our common positions — the lines we must achieve and the lines we cannot compromise on,” he added. “These positions will be presented to our partners in the United States.”

The Kremlin on Monday described last week’s angry exchange between Zelensky and Trump at the Oval Office as “unprecedented”.

“Quite an unprecedented event,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the meeting in comments to journalists, adding that Zelensky “demonstrated a complete lack of diplomatic abilities. To put it mildly.”

He accused Zelensky of not wanting peace.

“He doesn’t want peace. Someone should make him want peace. If the Europeans do it, all kudos to them,” Peskov said.

 One-month truce 

Macron told Le Figaro that a truce would not, initially at least, cover ground fighting.

The problem was that it would be very difficult to enforce given the size of the front line, he said.

Peacekeepers would be deployed at a later date, he said, adding: “There won’t be European troops on Ukrainian soil in the coming weeks.”

Macron also suggested that European countries should raise their defense spending to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent of GDP to respond to Washington’s shifting priorities and Russia’s militarisation.

While recently reinaugurated Trump has cast himself as a mediator between Putin and Zelensky, his approach has sidelined Kiev. and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with the Russian leader.

This shift was on full display at the Oval Office meeting with Zelensky, who Trump accused of not being grateful enough for U.S. aid and not being “ready” for peace with Russia.

Starmer, who had met Trump just days earlier, insisted the United States was “not an unreliable ally”. Any deal “must have strong U.S. backing” to succeed, he said.

But after the leaders gathered on Sunday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen warned the continent urgently had to rearm to “prepare for the worst”.

And Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for the United States and Europe to show Putin “that the West has no intention of capitulating before his blackmail and aggression”.

On Sunday, Trump dismissed concerns over his closeness with Russia, saying the United States should worry “less” about Putin and more about domestic crime.

  ‘Constructive’ approach 

Trump’s Republican party has largely fallen in line behind his pivot towards Moscow’s narrative on the Ukraine war.

Top officials have suggested Zelensky should step down to ensure a peace deal.

“We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end this war,” Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, told CNN.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Zelensky either “needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country.”

Zelensky has repeatedly suggested he would resign in exchange for NATO membership for Ukraine — a goal scorned by Trump.

“If there is NATO and the war is over, it means I fulfilled my mission,” Zelensky said Monday.

He also stressed the need to keep Washington onside, and signalled his readiness to sign a mineral deal coveted by Trump.

“I am ready to engage in any kind of constructive format in relations with the U.S.,” he said.

UK,