Britain’s Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, pledged to send British peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to help guarantee its security.
Starmer wrote in an opinion piece for Monday’s Telegraph newspaper that “the UK is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine.”
In the opinion letter, the UK Prime Minister urged fellow European leaders to respond to demands from US President Donald Trump to shoulder more of the burden for the continent’s defense.
That means providing Ukraine’s military with ongoing kit and financial assistance, and also “being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary,” Starmer wrote, confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg. “We have got to show we are truly serious about our own defense and bearing our own burden.”
The UK is seeking to play a bridging role between Europe and the US after Trump on Wednesday stunned European leaders by announcing that he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
“Europe and America must continue to work closely together – and I believe the UK can play a unique role in helping to make this happen,” Starmer wrote. “We are facing a once in a generation moment for the collective security of our continent. This is not only a question about the future of Ukraine. It is existential for Europe as a whole.”
Starmer is expected to join Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and other European leaders in Paris on Monday after French President Emmanuel Macron convened urgent talks on Ukraine and the continent’s wider security.
The meeting in the French capital will include conversations on possible European troop deployments to Ukraine during a ceasefire, the ongoing supply of weapons to Kyiv, what sort of security guarantees Europe can give Ukraine and how they can persuade Trump to agree to US support for those guarantees, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity discussing internal deliberations. They cautioned that the talks are at an early stage and no final decisions have been made.
“While European nations must step up in this moment – and we will – US support will remain critical and a US security guarantee is essential for a lasting peace, because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again,” Starmer wrote. He said he would meet Trump in “coming days” to help secure a “strong deal” on Ukraine.
The flurry of activity comes after European powers — and Ukraine itself — faced the prospect of being sidelined in peace talks. With US and Russian officials set to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Trump’s special envoy, Keith Kellogg suggested “that’s not going to happen” when asked if Europe would be at the negotiating table.
Starmer said that if Ukraine were excluded from the discussions, it “would accept Putin’s position that Ukraine is not a real nation.”
Still, Secretary of State Marco Rubio left the door open for European involvement in the wider discussions, telling CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday: “Ukraine will have to be involved because they’re the one that were invaded. And the Europeans will have to be involved because they have sanctions on Putin and Russia as well and they’ve contributed to this effort.”
Starmer said European nations must increase defense spending and take on a greater role in NATO. “Peace comes through strength; but the reverse is also true, he wrote. “Weakness leads to war. This is the moment for us all to step up – and the UK will do so.”
READ ALSO: Starmer: Labour has deported record number of migrants by scrapping Rwanda scheme
