British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has revealed that he faced pressure from Washington to criticise President Volodymyr Zelensky after the latter’s showdown with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office led to the Ukrainian president walking out of the White House early.

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Starmer said in an interview with the New York Times (NYT) that was published March 23, that the U.K. is acting as a bridge between Ukraine and the U.S. and that President Donald Trump’s actions, such as rebuking Zelensky, have caused “a degree of disorientation”. He added that the best response is not to get provoked.

“On the day in which the Oval Office meeting between President Trump and President Zelensky didn’t go particularly well, we were under pressure to come out very critically with, you know, flowery adjectives to describe how others felt,” Starmer told the NYT in the interview.

Also read: ‘Difficult negotiations’ ahead: Russia downplays Ukraine peace talks before US meeting

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Starmer said that instead of doing what was desired, and withstanding the pressure, he decided to call both sides to “try and get them back on the same page”. He added that he has a good relationship with Trump and understands “what he’s trying to achieve”.

Following the heated Oval Office clash, Starmer sent his national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, to Kyiv to counsel Zelensky on how to mend the frayed ties with Trump. The British leader later updated Trump on Kyiv’s progress, helping set up a call between the two presidents that saw Zelensky openly back Trump’s peace efforts.
Washington restored military aid and intelligence support to Kyiv and, at times, threatened Russia with sanctions.

Also read: Putin prayed for Trump after assassination attempt, says top US envoy Steve Witkoff

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Starmer, who is a strong supporter of Ukraine, has called for countries to join a “coalition of the willing” to support Ukraine with a peacekeeping force. He warned that Putin will breach any peace deal unless security guarantees are in place. 
Starmer is trying to build a multinational military force with the goal of keeping Ukraine’s skies, ports, and borders secure after any peace settlement.

Also read: 'Putin will HAVE to come to the table': Starmer's 'Plan B' for Ukraine ceasefire

“I don’t trust Putin,” Starmer said. “I’m sure Putin would try to insist that Ukraine should be defenseless after a deal because that gives him what he wants, which is the opportunity to go in again.”
“It needs to be clear to Putin that there will be severe consequences if he breaches the lines,” the UK PM said on March 20.

Also read: Trump-Putin call ends after over two hours, White House and Kremlin confirm | Key HIGHLIGHTS

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are quite sceptical of Washington’s attempts to broker a ceasefire. A U.S.-orchestrated 30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure was agreed by Moscow and Kyiv on March 18, but Russia has continued to launch hundreds of drones at Ukraine, killing dozens of civilians.

U.S. negotiators are scheduled to meet Ukrainian and Russian delegates separately in Riyadh on March 24 to discuss the partial ceasefire proposal.