British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today called on allied leaders to increase supplies of air defense systems to Ukraine and said there can be no peace talks with Russia until it withdraws from captured Ukrainian regions, DPA and PA Media reported .

Leaders of the countries participating in the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) met in Riga to discuss Ukraine's defense needs.

Sunak said in the Latvian capital that now was an "incredibly important" moment for the EU to reaffirm its continued support for Kyiv.

He called on other EU countries to maintain the same level of support or increase their aid to Ukraine and provide Kyiv with more missile defense systems, artillery and armored vehicles.

Britain has announced new deliveries of artillery ammunition under a £250 million ($305 million) contract as part of its 2023 defense aid to Ukraine.

"We must clearly show that any unilateral call from Russia for a ceasefire is completely meaningless in the current context.

I think it would be a false call to be used by Russia to regroup, to reinforce its troops, and until it withdraws from the conquered territory, there cannot and should not be any real negotiations.

But what we can do is think about that time now, think about what we're going to do in terms of security guarantees," Sunak said.

Rishi Sunak: Russia should withdraw from Ukraine

He said the EU should focus on weakening Moscow's ability to regroup and restock, including by taking a firm stand against Iran sending drones to Russia.

Sunak is visiting the Baltic region.

After the CEC meeting, he will hold talks with Latvian Prime Minister Kristianis Karinsh, and later in the day he will arrive in Estonia, where he is expected to meet British and NATO troops stationed on the alliance's eastern flank, as well as will sign a new technical partnership agreement, notes BTA.

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