British Officials Discuss With Representatives Of 20 Countries To Discuss Coalition To Support Ukraine

JAKARTA - British officials held talks with about 20 countries, mostly European countries and Commonwealth countries, interested in joining the coalition to support Ukraine.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously announced Britain, France, and several other countries would form a coalition to formulate plans to offer support to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement to end Russia's war.

The official did not want to mention which countries showed interest in providing support, but said: "This shows the coalition's desire to convene and the desire of a number of countries to play their part," he said.

"This is still an early stage and the situation is still very fluid," he added.

As previously reported, European leaders are expected to agree to increase defense spending and reaffirm support for Ukraine at a summit on Thursday.

President Donald Trump's suspension of military aid to Kyiv sparked fears the European Union (EU) could no longer rely on US protection.

Leaders from 27 European Union countries will be accompanied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a summit in Brussels, Belgium, although Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orban, Trump's ally, may veto a unanimous statement in favor of Kyiv.

Although the summit will provide support and plans to increase defense spending, Europe is not expected to be fully capable of replacing suspended US aid. Washington provided more than 40% of military aid to Ukraine last year, according to NATO, some of which Europe cannot easily provide.

The meeting took place under the backdrop of dramatic defense policy decisions driven by Russia's concerns that it might attack the next EU country and that Europe cannot rely on the US to provide its assistance.

"I want to believe that the United States will support us. But we have to be prepared if that doesn't happen," French President Emmanuel Macron said of the war in Ukraine in a speech in front of France ahead of the summit.

As a sign of the severity of the current situation, Macron said France was open to discussing the expansion of the protection it offers its nuclear arsenal to its European partners. He stressed that Russia has become a threat to all of Europe.

"Facing this dangerous world, staying in the audience is a mess," Macron said.

On Tuesday, parties wishing to form the next German government agreed to relax lending limits to allow billions of euros in additional defense spending.