Ukraine's allies will seek to strengthen a US plan to end the war with Russia when they meet at the G20 summit in South Africa, UK PM Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The summit begins a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Ukraine faced one of the most difficult moments in our history over pressure to accept the plan - leaked details of which have been seen as favourable to Moscow.
Zelensky held phone talks with Sir Keir and the leaders of France and Germany on Friday. Afterwards, the PM said Ukraine's friends and partners remained committed to securing a lasting peace once and for all.
Neither US President Donald Trump nor Russian President Vladimir Putin are attending the G20.
The widely leaked US peace plan includes proposals that Kyiv had previously ruled out, including ceding eastern areas it now controls.
Washington has been pressing Kyiv to accept, and sent senior Pentagon officials to Ukraine earlier this week to discuss the proposals.
But there is nervousness in Europe over what has been perceived as a set of terms heavily slanted in Moscow's favour. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the prospect of it being adopted a very dangerous moment.
According to Reuters news agency, she told reporters: We all want this war to end, but how it ends matters. Russia has no legal right whatsoever to any concessions from the country it invaded, ultimately the terms of any agreement are for Ukraine to decide.
Ahead of the Ukraine talks at the G20, Sir Keir said gathered leaders would discuss the current proposal on the table, and in support of President Trump's push for peace, look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations.
As part of the White House's plan, Ukraine would be obliged to cut the size of its army and pledge not to join the Nato military alliance, a long-held Kremlin demand.
Speaking on Friday, Trump warned that Ukraine would lose more territory to Russia in a short amount of time and that Zelensky is going to have to approve the plan.
Ukraine relies on deliveries of US-manufactured advanced weaponry to arm its forces, including air defense systems.
Kyiv has also been dependent on intelligence provided by Washington since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
During a meeting with his security cabinet, Putin confirmed the US had presented its proposed peace plan, and said it could be the basis for a settlement - though added detailed talks on its terms had not yet been held in the Kremlin.
In a 10-minute address, Zelensky warned that Ukraine would face a lot of pressure... to weaken us, to divide us. He emphasized the need to work calmly with America and partners in offering alternatives to the proposed peace plan.
The leaked draft proposes Ukrainian troops' withdrawal from parts of the eastern Donetsk region that they currently control, and de facto Russian control of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as integrating Russia back into the global economy.
While the draft suggests Ukraine would receive reliable security guarantees, how these will be articulated remains unclear. The plan also proposes that Russia will not invade its neighbors and NATO will not expand further.
