Vance and Lammy host Ukraine talks ahead of US-Russia summit

Source: BBC

20 minutes ago


US Vice-President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy have hosted a meeting of security officials near London to discuss the war in Ukraine. The talks are said to have been called at the request of the US.

The pair were joined by Ukrainian officials and European national security advisers, with Lammy saying the "UK's support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace".

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed he will make no territorial concessions to Russia, ahead of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska next week. Saturday's meeting was held at Chevening, Lammy's official country residence in Kent, where Vance and his family are staying.

Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, and Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office, attended the talks along with officials representing the UK, US, EU, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Nato. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the meeting, and said they agreed it would be a "vital forum" to discuss progress towards peace.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dp119lk5xo