Britain, France, Germany Back Ukraine's Five Peace Conditions, Urge Direct Talks

Britain, France, and Germany have endorsed Ukraine's terms for ending the war, as outlined after a 7 June meeting in London with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, known as the E3, supported Kyiv's call for direct talks with Moscow and an immediate ceasefire. They also advocated for tightening sanctions on Russia's war economy and enhancing Ukraine's air defenses.

The E3 set out five conditions for a just and lasting peace: an immediate, complete ceasefire; the current front line as the starting point for talks with no forced border changes and Ukraine retaining freedom to choose alliances; robust, legally binding security guarantees post-ceasefire, building on December 2025 Berlin and January 2026 Paris commitments, including a multinational force in Ukraine; Russian assets remaining immobilized until Moscow ends aggression and compensates Ukraine; and European interests safeguarded, with any EU- or NATO-related terms requiring both blocs' consent.

The leaders commended Zelenskyy's 4 June letter to Putin calling for an end to the war and backed direct Ukraine-Russia dialogue with active US and European participation. They also denounced Russia's missile and drone attacks, including Oreshnik strikes and incursions into NATO territory. They welcomed Ukraine's battlefield gains and agreed to coordinate further support at the upcoming G7 summit in Evian, the next Coalition of the Willing meeting, and the NATO summit in Ankara, focusing on choking off Russia's wartime revenue, increasing military pledges, and scaling up interceptor production and co-developing anti-ballistic and deep-strike weapons.