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(Bloomberg) — UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said some 25 allied leaders agreed on Saturday to keep tightening restrictions on Russia’s economy in an effort to draw President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to secure a cease-fire in its war with Ukraine.

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“The effects of the sanctions on the Russian economy have been pretty profound,” Starmer told reporters at a press conference in London. “We shouldn’t underestimate the impact they’ve already had and by doubling down and increasing sanctions, that will cause even more pressure.”

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Following a call with fellow leaders, Starmer said Western nations are gathering political and military momentum, and after additional commitments toward a post-conflict Ukraine were made, they’re now moving to the “operational phase” of arriving at security guarantees for the nation, some three years after Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. Allied military chiefs will meet Thursday for further talks, he said.

“It’s really important at this point that we put maximum pressure on Russia,” Starmer said. “This ‘yes, but,” is not good enough,” he added, accusing Putin of delaying a cease-fire by saying Russia needed to study the proposals and adding conditions. 

Saturday’s virtual meeting included discussions about seizing frozen Russian assets to help fund Ukraine’s defense, Starmer said, although he again stressed there were political and legal hurdles to such a move.

The Russian leader this week stopped short of endorsing the truce proposal without resolving what he’s termed the underlying causes of the crisis.

“If Putin is serious about peace, it’s very simple: he has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a cease-fire,” Starmer said earlier. “And the world is watching. And my feeling is that sooner or later Putin is going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussions.” 

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The meeting followed an in-person summit hosted by the premier and French President Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of the month, after US President Donald Trump’s administration stunned European allies by opening direct talks with Putin. 

The leaders of several European nations, along with those of Australia, Canada and New Zealand, joined the call. 

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said that European nations and their allies are “very motivated” to move toward peace, and that there’s more optimism now than two weeks ago.

“Everyone is determined to put pressure on Russia,” he said in a televised press conference. “The ball is on Russia’s side. Now Russia needs to show its real intentions: do they really want peace or are these only empty words aimed at prolonging talks?”

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters that all countries expressed a willingness to contribute toward securing the peace, but that it’s still premature to give any detail on practical assistance in a peacekeeping mission.

The leaders intend soon to present their proposals to Trump, who they’re seeking to persuade to commit US security guarantees in the form of air power, intelligence and border surveillance — without having to send American troops as part of a peacekeeping force. 

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Russia has said it opposes any troops belonging to North Atlantic Treaty Organization members being stationed in Ukraine after the war ends. It’s also demanded that Ukraine — which Kremlin forces invaded in 2022 — cede territory, formally agree to neutrality, and demilitarize.

Bloomberg reported this week that Western security officials assessed that Putin had set deliberately maximalist goals around land and peacekeepers that he knows are unlikely to be met, and is ready to continue fighting the war if he doesn’t get what he wants.

“We have to keep pushing ahead, pushing forward and preparing for peace,” Starmer said.

—With assistance from Maciej Martewicz and Milda Seputyte.

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