European leaders rally behind Ukraine

Kyiv and Moscow fail to agree to a ceasefire at their first direct talks in three years, with Russia presenting conditions that a Ukrainian source said went beyond its previous demands

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

European leaders have agreed with US President Donald Trump that Russia's position in ceasefire talks with Ukraine is unacceptable and they intend to coordinate a response, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday.

Starmer spoke from Albania's capital, Tirana, where leaders of dozens of European countries were gathered for the European Political Community, or EPC, summit attended by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"We just had a meeting with President Zelenskyy and then a phone call with President Trump to discuss the developments in the negotiations today, and the Russian position is clearly unacceptable," Starmer told reporters.