The Latest: Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders to shore up support for Zelenskyy

Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders on Sunday to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.

The London meeting has now taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and boosting the continent’s defenses.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is hosting the leaders of more than a dozen countries and other officials, embraced Zelenskyy on his arrival in London on Saturday, saying he is determined to find an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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With a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the “foreign policy” alignment of the U.S. administration largely mirrors that of Moscow.

“The new (U.S.) administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision,” Peskov said, according to a post by state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin on Sunday on the Telegram channel.

Peskov spoke on Wednesday, before the Zelenskyy-Trump blowout on Friday.

His remarks were seen as a follow-up on the U.S. splitting with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. In the U.N. General Assembly last week, the U.S. joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow’s aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

Ties between Moscow and Washington had plummeted to their lowest levels since the Cold War after Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and invaded Ukraine in 2022.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, says she will “highlight Europe’s ongoing support to Ukraine” during the London summit on Sunday.

As she traveled to the United Kingdom, von der Leyen said the aim of the 27-nation bloc is to create a path “to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

Von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive arm, wrote on the social network X: “The path to peace is strength. Weakness breeds more war. We will support Ukraine, while undertaking a surge in European defense.”

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has positioned herself as a bridge between Trump and Europe, spoke with the U.S. president on Saturday night, ahead of the London meeting, her office said.

Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trump’s inauguration, has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, making her position difficult given the White House clash.

French President Emmanuel Macron says Russia must be stopped or it’s likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine further west.

Macron told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper ahead of a summit in London that Vladimir Putin’s ambitions pose an existential threat to Europe.

“We have an over-armed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe,” Macron said. If Putin is not stopped, Macron said, “he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania.”

“It’s our security that’s at stake,” Macron added.

“The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that,” he said. “I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests.”

The British prime minister says the Unted Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States.

Starmer says the plan emerged after talks among the four countries’ leaders following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s spat with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday.

The prime minster told the BBC he believes the U.S. president wants a durable peace in Ukraine. He repeated his assertion that American security guarantees will be needed to make it stick.

The meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old elegant mansion near Buckingham Palace, follows a charm offensive last week to engage with Trump to tilt his allegiances toward Europe.

That offensive, however, devolved into a meltdown on live television from the Oval Office on Friday with Trump’s extraordinary scolding of Zelenskyy.

It seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping fend off, and conclude, Russia’s three-year onslaught on Ukraine.

Sunday’s summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.

The summit on Sunday will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to “find a way to restore his relationship with the American president” after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday.

Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that “he really had to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine.” He was referring to the first Trump administration’s decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion.

Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy “unfortunate,” Rutte said he “knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace” with Russia.

Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees.