SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
More funding and weapons for Ukraine and for their own defense - these are the priorities a group of European and NATO countries agreed on today at an emergency meeting in London in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Teri Schultz reports on the four-point plan.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared the emergency summit he hosted in London came at a make or break moment.
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PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER: We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act, time to step up and lead and to unite around a new plan for a just and enduring peace.
SCHULTZ: Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, seated at the front of the room alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, must have been keenly aware of how delicate their diplomatic maneuvering had become after Friday's White House meeting between Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump disintegrated in front of the cameras with Trump berating the Ukrainian leader for what he said was gambling with World War III. The European leaders wanted to show they will not abandon Kyiv. After all, for many, Ukraine is the buffer zone between Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops and their territory. The Starmer-Macron plan is to bring to Trump a European version of a roadmap to achieve and sustain peace between Ukraine and Russia, rather than a Trump-generated concept, which they fear would give the Kremlin too many concessions. It starts with bolstering Ukraine with more money and military support, both for a better negotiating position with Moscow and for the long run. This is how European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described those aspirations as she left the meeting.
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URSULA VON DER LEYEN: We have to put Ukraine in that position of strength that it has the means to fortify and protect itself from the economic survival to the military resilience. It's basically turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders.
SCHULTZ: One tricky part of this deal would be satisfying Trump's demand that a reassurance force to monitor and envision ceasefire would be made up of European troops, no Americans. Starmer was the first to say U.K. forces and air power could be part of it, but there's a big contingency clause for him and every other leader considering this action.
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STARMER: To succeed, this effort must have strong U.S. backing. We're working with the U.S. on this point.
SCHULTZ: Starmer says he's been in touch with Trump as recently as Saturday about this and that he wouldn't be pushing the idea forward if he didn't think he could get U.S. guarantees. This could mean the use of American intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities for troops and the positioning of U.S. war planes close to Ukraine to respond in case of a Russian attack. There's another emergency meeting coming up on Thursday when European Union leaders gather in Brussels to try to find the money to spend more on Ukraine and on their own defense. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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