Sir Keir Starmer made phone calls to the leaders of the three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – whom he failed to invite to the critical defence summit he is hosting today in London.
The three states, all of which share a border with Russia, are said to be “very unhappy” not to be invited to the landmark meeting of European leaders, according to diplomats.
A diplomatic source told Sky News on Friday: “We are truly very unhappy with a refusal to invite the Baltic leaders.”
Despite the disquiet in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius, Sir Keir told the summit: “I spoke to our Baltic allies this morning. Together, they, obviously, are part our discussions and all of Ukraine’s partners have to meet this moment and grab it with both hands.”
In a statement Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister spoke to President Alar Karis of Estonia, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa of Latvia and President Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania this morning.
“The Prime Minister reiterated that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are key partners of the UK, including through the Joint Expeditionary Force, and welcomed their leading contributions in support of Ukraine since Russia’s illegal invasion began.
“The Prime Minister updated them on his discussions with the leaders of Ukraine, France and the United States in recent days – and underlined his focus on securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that ensures their future sovereignty, backed up by strong security guarantees.
“They all agreed that Europe must unite and drive forward urgent action that will secure the best outcome, which will be vital for Europe’s future security.
“The Prime Minister updated on his plans to convene leaders in London later today for further discussions and they agreed to stay in close contact in the coming weeks.”
Sir Keir will address the nation and the world in a press conference after 4pm today.
He is expected to tell the country that peace in Ukraine, backed by the US, is still a possibility and that the UK and France would lead a “coalition of the willing” to ensure any agreement was peacefully upheld.
Earlier today, the PM told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme that US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance’s dressing down of the Ukrainian leader made me “uncomfortable”. He added: “Nobody wants to see that.”
The Prime Minister told the show: “The important thing is how to react to that. There are a number of different routes people could go down. One is to ramp up the rhetoric as to how outraged we all are or not.
“The other is to do what I did, which is roll up my sleeves, pick up the phone, talk to President Trump, talk to President Zelensky, then invite President Zelensky for an extensive meeting yesterday, a warm welcome, and then further pick up the phone to President Macron and President Trump afterwards.
“My driving purpose has been to bridge this, if you like, and get us back to the central focus.”
