Keir Starmer held calls with Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump and other European leaders ahead of high stakes in-person talks between the US President and Vladimir Putin on Friday

There were also fears that Friday's meeting could result in the US and Russia imposing a peace deal on Ukraine against its will. Convincing Mr Trump to speak with Mr Zelensky in today's video-conference was seen as an important breakthrough, but Ukraine, the UK and other European nations remain frozen out of the key talks.