European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is one of the first out the doors, and the first leader to give her first reaction.
She says the leaders had a “good and frank discussion”, discussing what is needed to put Ukraine in a position of strength.
She says Ukraine needs “comprehensive security guarantees”, supporting its economic and military positions.
She says “we urgently have to re-arm Europe”, and the commission will propose a plan on this at the European Council on 6 March, as she says “we really have to step up massively”.
“It is now of utmost importance to step up the defence investment for a prolonged period of time. It’s for the security of the European Union, and we need … in the geostrategic environment in which we live, to prepare for the worst, and therefore stepping up the defences,” she says.
Asked about her message for the US, she said “we are ready, together with you, to defend democracy and the principle that there is a rule of law, that you cannot invade … and bully your neighbour or cannot change borders with force.”
Only Putin benefitted from that Trump-Zelenskyy clash, Finland’s Stubb says
Before going into that room inside Lancaster House, Finnish president Alex Stubb has given an interview to the BBC on the events of the last 72 hours.
Speaking about the public disagreement between Zelenskyy, Trump and Vance in the Oval Office on Friday, he said:
I think at the end of the day, there was only one winner of that exchange, that was Vladimir Putin …
The conversations that I’ve had since in the past 72 hours are pretty much about let’s move on. Let’s get back on track. Let’s see what diplomacy can do.
And I’m quite convinced that the meeting that we have here in London today is going to give us the first baby steps back to the table.
He acknowledged that Nato was “shifting” under Trump, with a “more transactional” US, but insisted that it was “still alive and kicking”.
He said that he still believed in US guarantees under Nato, saying he has “heard no language saying that the United States is not committed to Article Five”.
Stubb also praised UK’s Starmer and France’s Macron for showing “the kind of leadership we need in Europe right now” by leading discussions on what Europe can offer as part of a broader peace process.
Let’s see what it looks like, and who can join in. Diplomacy has many different forms, and we’ll see what comes out of it.
