World

E3 leaders push ceasefire talks between Ukraine, Russia

By AAP Newswire

Jun 8, 2026

Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskiy — The United Kingdom, France and Germany have become Ukraine's largest supporters. -EPA

The leaders of Britain, ‌Germany and France want direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to ‌try ‌to ⁠secure a ceasefire, with Europe playing a role.

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In a joint statement after a meeting in London, British Prime Minister ⁠Keir ‌Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President ‌Emmanuel Macron said they commended Zelenskiy's call for an end to the war and supported the proposal for direct ‌dialogue between Ukraine and Russia - with active US and European participation - to that end.

The leaders called on Putin to agree "an immediate and complete ceasefire" with the current line of contact as a starting point for any negotiations, Downing Street said on Sunday.

"They condemned Russia's large-scale missile and drone attacks - including the repeated use of the Oreshnik missiles - on Ukrainian cities with a tragic toll on civilians, as well as irresponsible and dangerous Russian drone incursions into NATO territory," a statement said.

"They expressed their condolences to all the victims.

"They discussed how to use the upcoming G7 summit at Evian, the next meeting of the coalition of the willing, and the NATO summit at Ankara to best co-ordinate further support for Ukraine based on its prioritised needs, including further pressure on Russia's war economy and an increased pledge of military and defence support for Ukraine at the NATO summit.

"The leaders underlined the urgent need to scale up the production of interceptors and co-develop anti-ballistic missile and deep strike capabilities, and to support the future sustainability of the Ukrainian armed forces." the statement said.

with PA