European leaders in Ukraine’s Kyiv to press Russia for 30-day ceasefire

The trip marks the first time the leaders of four European nations have made a joint visit to Ukraine. 

The leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Poland have arrived in Ukraine for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and have put pressure on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire as a step to end the three-year conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived together by train from neighbouring Poland on Saturday. Later, they were joined by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

“There is a lot of work to do, a lot of topics to discuss. We must end this war with a just peace. We must force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire,” said Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, posting photographs welcoming the leaders off the train.

It is the first time the leaders of the four European nations have made a joint visit to Ukraine.

More than three years into Russia’s invasion, the hugely symbolic show of European unity comes a day after President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone at a Moscow parade marking 80 years since victory in World War II.

United States President Donald Trump has proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as a step to end the conflict. But Putin has resisted so far.

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said the quartet’s visit was “symbolic”, practical meetings were also expected to take place.

“Those practical meetings are expected to discuss the 30-day ceasefire, but crucially how to keep the US on side moving forward with any sort of talks,” he said.

After meeting Zelenskyy in the morning, the leaders are to host a virtual meeting to update other European leaders on moves to create a European force that could provide Ukraine with security after the war.

‘Just and lasting peace’

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace,” the leaders said in a statement ahead of the visit.

“We are ready to support peace talks as soon as possible, to discuss technical implementation of the ceasefire, and prepare for a full peace deal,” they added.

The statement said “the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come”.

The leaders promised to continue to increase their support for Ukraine, saying “until Russia agrees to an enduring ceasefire, we will ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the ABC news channel on Saturday that arms deliveries from Ukraine’s allies must stop before Russia would agree to a ceasefire.

A truce would otherwise be an “advantage for Ukraine” at a time when “Russian troops are advancing … in quite a confident way” on the front, Peskov said, adding that Ukraine was “not ready for immediate negotiations”.

Russia has occupied about a fifth of Ukrainian territory and has yet to respond to the pressure for an enduring ceasefire.

Trump has also said Ukraine will have to consider giving up territory, such as the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, but has expressed growing impatience with Russia’s refusal to halt the fighting.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies