This came after France proposed a month-long initial truce that could pave the way for peace talks.

European countries are exploring options for a peace proposal, which included Ukraine, following last week’s Oval Office falling-out between the U.S. President, Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When asked about Europe’s weekend efforts to rally around Zelenskyy, White House National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz said they welcomed Europe stepping up for itself, adding that European nations must also invest in the capabilities to do so.

France, Britain, and potentially other European countries have offered to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire but say they would want support from the U.S.—a proposal referred to as a backstop.

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Zelenskyy has said that a ceasefire must come with explicit security guarantees from the West to ensure that Russia, which invaded Ukraine three years ago and holds about 20% of its territory, does not attack again.

However, Trump has refused to provide any such guarantees.

Starmer had on Sunday hosted a summit of European leaders in London and said European leaders had  to draw up a Ukraine peace plan to present to the United States.

French President Emmanuel Macron, on his way to the summit, raised the possibility of a one-month ceasefire, although there has been no public endorsement from other allies so far.

French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot said such a truce on air, sea, and energy infrastructure would allow them to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a truce.

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It was gathered that a three-person panel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague will hear arguments from both sides for three days on whether a British ban on fishing sandeels in its North Sea waters breaches the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, TCA.

The three legal experts from France, New Zealand, and South Africa have until late April to deliver a final ruling.
Britain puts the revenue loss for non-UK vessels at 45 million pounds in a worst-case scenario.

The three-person tribunal can uphold the ban or rule it breaches the TCA, allowing the EU to retaliate if it is not lifted.

That would upset environmentalists and Brexiteers, who could pressure Britain’s Labour government not to yield, a stance that would hamper hopes for better ties with the bloc.

British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, is due to join EU leaders for a retreat and discuss closer defence ties to counter Russia and to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that NATO members increase military spending.

Britain is also expected to address other areas in the coming months, such as a veterinary agreement with the EU that would ease agricultural and food trade.

It said that the fishing ban is necessary, reflecting scientific advice on the resilience of the species and the role it plays in the food chain of predators – larger fish, marine mammals, and seabirds such as puffins.

The EU argued that the ban was discriminatory, disproportionate, and not based on the best available scientific evidence.

It said that the fishing prohibition constitutes an unjustified restriction on the access of EU vessels to UK waters granted by the TCA.

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Healey stated that three years since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine the depths of his miscalculation are clearer than ever, as the brave people of Ukraine continue to defy all expectations with their unbreakable spirit.

In July, the new Labour Government vowed to commit £3 billion yearly in military aid to Ukraine until 2030-2031.

The defence ministry said the new package will include £92 million for equipment to bolster Ukraine’s navy, including small boats, reconnaissance drones and uncrewed surface vessels.

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A further £68 million will be used for air defence equipment including radars, and 1,000 counter-drone electronic warfare systems at a cost of £39 million will be supplied to the Ukrainian army.

Healey said the UK would also boost a training programme for Ukrainian soldiers run with key allies on British soil known as Operation Interflex, under which 51,000 recruits have been trained since mid-2022.

London gave Kyiv the green light to launch the UK-supplied, long-range missiles into Russia for the first time in November.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet NATO chief, Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels late Wednesday to strategise over Russia’s war ahead of Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States.

Western backers are seeking to shore up Ukraine’s forces as Kyiv’s fatigued troops are losing ground across the frontline and Moscow has deployed North Koreans to the battlefield.

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Blair, the privately educated lawyer who appointed working-class Prescott to help appease the Labour left as he moved the party to the centre ground, said he was devastated at Prescott’s death.

Keir Starmer, who became Labour’s first prime minister since 2010 after a landslide general election win in July, called Prescott a true giant of the Labour movement.

Starmer added that Prescott was a staunch defender of working people and a proud trade unionist. During a decade as deputy prime minister, he was one of the key architects of a Labour government that transformed the lives of millions of people across the nation.

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Prescott, a former merchant seaman and trade union activist who served as a member of parliament for Hull in northern England for four decades, died peacefully at a care home, his wife Pauline, and two sons said.

Prescott, who was appointed to the House of Lords, suffered a stroke in 2019 and had been suffering from Alzheimer’s. He stopped being a member of the upper chamber of parliament in July because of his health problems.

Plain-speaking, Prescott served for 10 years as Blair’s deputy following Labour’s landslide 1997 general election win. During a campaign stop in north Wales he punched a protester who threw an egg at him.  But he also acted as a mediator between Blair and his finance minister Gordon Brown, who also helmed the transformation of Labour in the 1990s and who had designs on power.

Prescott’s brief included the environment and transport, as well as leading negotiations for Britain for the international Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

Blair said in a 2007 letter to Prescott that he saw his role as smoothing out colleagues and sorting out colleagues and trouble-shooting.

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