Even as they have rallied to Volodymyr Zelenskiy's side after his Oval Office clash with Donald Trump, European leaders' approach to the war in Ukraine and the continent's security remains highly dependent on the U.

European leaders have been working to support Ukraine and beef up their own defenses. But the blowup between President Trump and Ukraine’s president on Friday made those goals more urgent.

For Britain’s prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who chaired the meeting and who had experienced a more congenial visit to Washington on February 27th, the priority was to secure European commitments to defend Ukraine while repairing bridges between Europe and America, and between Mr Zelensky, who sat next to Sir Keir at the summit, and Mr Trump.

Following the public clash between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, the U.K. and France are trying to broker a compromise solution to end the war.

Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Starmer said four points had been agreed: to keep military aid flowing into Ukraine, and to keep increasing the economic pressure on Russia that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security and Ukraine must be present at any peace talks in the event of a peace deal,

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer rallied his European counterparts to shore up their borders and throw their full weight behind Ukraine.