There can be no negotiation "about Ukraine without Ukraine", the UK's defence secretary has warned. John Healey was speaking ahead of a Nato meeting of defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday after US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed to begin negotiations to end the war.
United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, speaks with Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey during a group photo of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb.
Hegseth held talks with U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey, before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Hegseth's predecessor, former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, set up the forum for drumming up arms and ammunition for Ukraine in 2022.
The prime minister says it is important Ukraine "is in the strongest possible position" in any talks to end the conflict.
It comes after US President Donald Trump spoke to both the Ukrainian and Russian leaders, and suggested negotiations to end the war would follow.
Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of almost 60 countries formed to oversee military shipments to Kyiv, UK defence secretary John Healey said: “It’s a pleasure to be joined by [US defence] secretary [Pete] Hegseth,
Hegseth held talks with U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey, before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey speaks during a media conference after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Virg
Hegseth held talks with U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey before meeting with Ukraine Defense Contract Group (UDCG) at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The foreign secretary said Vladimir Putin would not "go away" even in the event of a negotiated peace in Ukraine
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey added that the West had done too little in the past when Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014. In an article for The Telegraph, they said the UK had committed an additional £150m towards military aid for Ukraine as well as new sanctions on people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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