Keir Starmer greets Volodymyr Zelensky at Downing Street (Picture: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/UPI/Shutterstock)

Sir Keir Starmer will join Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington for talks with Donald Trump tomorrow.

The US president announced yesterday that he will meet with the Ukrainian leader tomorrow to discuss an agreement ‘which would end the war’ between Russia and Ukraine. 

Trump has since extended the guest list to various European leaders – and Sir Keir is one of them.

Confirming his attendance today,Downing Street said the Prime Minister ‘will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue for as long as it takes’.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron,Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni will also be attending.

It comes after Trump met with Vladimir Putin for a high-risk meeting in Alaska on Friday – one that Kyiv was not invited to.

After literally giving the Russian president the red carpet treatment,Trump split from European allies by backing Putin’s peace agreement.

The Kremlin’s plan to end its grinding,three-year-long war in Ukraine would see the country be cut apart,with some land given to Russia.

Donald Trump (R) met with Vladimir Putin on Friday,all but thawing the Russian president’s political isolation (Picture: AFP)

Trump believes that a peace deal would be hashed out quickly if Zelensky agrees to the rest of the Donbas region to Russia. Russia already controls 88% of the region in eastern Ukraine.

He wrote on his social media platform,Truth Social,that he,Kyiv and Europe agree that a peace deal to end the war,rather than a ceasefire,is the only option.

‘If all works out,we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin. Potentially,millions of people’s lives will be saved. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’ he added.

However,it was unclear if European leaders had truly changed their mind on the need for a ceasefire.

Previously,they have made clear their belief that a ceasefire to immediately end the bloodshed in Ukraine is the best path towards a lasting peace.

A joint statement from leaders including Starmer,Macron,Merz and Meloni ahead of Friday’s summit said: ‘Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.’

European leaders are desperate to avoid a repeat of February’s ill-tempered meeting between the two presidents (Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP)

In a post on X yesterday,Zelensky wrote: ‘We see that Russia rebuffs numerous calls for a ceasefire and has not yet determined when it will stop the killing.

‘This complicates the situation.’

In a meeting with the Ukrainian leader today,European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggested it did not necessarily matter that Trump appeared to be moving away from endorsing a ceasefire in advance of a full peace deal,as either approach would ‘stop the killing’.

She added: ‘It’s not the term itself,it’s the content that matters.’

Zelensky said he ‘totally’ agreed with her comments.

The Ukrainian President’s last visit to the White House in February ended in an explosive row with Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Their relationship appears to have been mended at least partially in the months since,with the US President more willing to criticise the actions of Russia.

However,it remains unclear how that attitude may have been swayed during Friday’s summit.