European allies unite to put pressure on Russia

RUSSIA must show “without delay” that it is willing to broker peace in Ukraine, Kyiv’s leading European allies have said, after David Lammy insisted President Vladimir Putin must “get serious” about negotiations.

- PRESS ASSOCIATION REPORTERS

The UK's Foreign Secretary hosted his counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland and the European Union yesterday, when they discussed the future of Ukraine after a busy weekend of diplomacy by world leaders.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on his Russian counterpart to meet him face-to-face on Thursday in Turkey, for talks aimed at ending the war.

European leaders have suggested such talks must be accompanied by a truce, but Russia bombarded Ukraine with more than 100 drones overnight on Sunday, and it has said there can be no preconditions for peace talks.

In a statement released after yesterday’s talks at Lancaster House, in London, the foreign ministers of the countries involved in the talks said Russia “has not shown any serious intent to make progress”.