World leaders back peace plan for Ukraine, call for immediate ceasefire
A coalition of world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Portuguese President António Costa, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, have jointly reaffirmed their support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the leaders expressed unity in their desire for peace and endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump’s position that hostilities should end immediately, with the current line of contact serving as the basis for future negotiations.
“We are all united in our desire for a just and lasting peace, deserved by the people of Ukraine,” the statement read. “We strongly support President Trump’s position that the fighting should stop immediately, and that the current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
The leaders emphasized their continued commitment to the principle that international borders must not be altered by force, condemning Russia’s ongoing aggression and what they described as “stalling tactics.”
“Russia’s stalling tactics have shown time and time again that Ukraine is the only party serious about peace. We can all see that Putin continues to choose violence and destruction,” the statement added.
They also stressed the need to strengthen Ukraine’s position both before and after any ceasefire, vowing to intensify economic and defence-related pressure on Moscow.
“We must ramp up the pressure on Russia’s economy and its defence industry until Putin is ready to make peace. We are developing measures to use the full value of Russia’s immobilised sovereign assets so that Ukraine has the resources it needs,” the leaders said.
According to the statement, the leaders will convene later this week at the European Council and in the Coalition of the Willing format to discuss next steps in advancing peace efforts and sustaining support for Ukraine.
