PM ramps up bid to boost Euro defences

SIR KEIR Starmer has ramped up efforts to bolster European defences and secure a Ukrainian peace deal in the face of reduced security support from the US.

- By Martyn Brown Political Editor

The Prime Minister spoke with EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa and the leaders of Canada, Norway, Turkey and Iceland in his latest diplomatic blitz.

It comes as Donald Trump said he was “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a final peace deal is reached.

Downing Street said the call was primarily to provide an update on the EU Council meeting on Thursday, during which the leaders of EU nations backed moves to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security. The PM and French president Emmanuel Macron have been seeking countries who would be willing to defend a peace deal to join a so-called “coalition of the willing”.