Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted “as far as you can throw him”, Downing Street has warned. No 10’s intervention comes as US President Donald Trump prepares to meet his Russian counterpart in Alaska on Friday for peace talks over Ukraine.

Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer believes the Russian President could be trusted in negotiations, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the UK supported both Kyiv and the US President’s push for peace, but not Moscow. He said: “Never trust President Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine.

“We will obviously support President Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations. But it is exactly why we’ve been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for President Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.

“So we’re not going to leave it to trust. We’re going to ensure that we’re prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire.”

Planning for the so-called coalition of the willing, which would involve a European-led peacekeeping force sent to Ukraine to monitor any future truce, began in March.

Downing Street said “operational planning continues at a military level” despite no talks between leaders planned for this week, but indicated that there was little left to finalise.

Asked whether work relating to the coalition had been put on hold to keep the road clear for Washington-led mediation this week, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “No… if anything, the next step really is reaching that ceasefire, such that we’re then able to to implement the security guarantees.”

It comes after European leaders including Sir Keir said the path to peace for Kyiv “cannot be decided without Ukraine” and the current line of contact between Russia and Ukraine could only be a “starting point of negotiations”.

In a joint statement, the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said: “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.

“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine. We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.”

It comes as Mr Trump is seeking an end to a brutal conflict, which began in February 2022. The US President has suggested Ukraine may need to cede territory in order to stop the fighting.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already rejected any proposal that would compromise the war-torn nation’s territorial integrity.

He said Mr Putin wanted to “exchange a pause in the war, in the killing, for the legalisation of the occupation of our land – he wants to get territorial spoils for the second time”.

Mr Zelensky added: “We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine. Knowing Russia, where there is a second, there will be a third.”