European leaders back Ukraine's call for direct talk with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets in London with UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss steps to further support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The leaders spent several hours talking at 10 Downing Street before Zelenskyy and Starmer sat down for further dialogue. Zelenskyy says Europe must play a key role in any negotiations to end the war with Russia in the wake of a series of attacks on Ukraine.

The European leaders back Ukrainian  Zelenskyy's call for direct talks with Putin, urging US and EU involvement. The so-called E3 group of European nations have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The UK and France lead the "coalition of the willing" initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process. Following the meeting, a Russian presidential aid tells local news agency Tass that Moscow maintains both open and private channels of communication with Ukraine.