Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed he is prepared to put a British troops into Ukraine to enforce a peace deal with Russia if necessary.
The prime minister acknowledged this could put British peacekeeping forces “in harm’s way” if Vladimir Putin attacks again, but said “any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security” would help guarantee “the security of this country”.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister said the UK was “ready to play a leading role” in Ukraine’s defence and security, which “means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.
“I do not say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way,” he said.
It is the first time he has explicitly said he was considering sending British troops to Ukraine, having previously only hinted that they could be involved in safeguarding Ukraine after a ceasefire
His statement comes before he is set to join European leaders for emergency talks in Paris as they scramble to respond to Donald Trump’s push for a deal with Putin.
ICYMI: Zelensky ‘will never’ accept decisions made about Ukraine without their involvement
Zelensky has made it clear that he would never accept a peace deal negotiated by the U.S. and Russia without Ukraine having an equal place at the table
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never,” Zelenskyy told ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Kristen Welker on Friday in Munich, Germany. “This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses.”
He added: “There is no any leader in the world who can really make a deal with Putin without us about us.”
Zelensky also said he told Trump not to trust Putin, and stressed that America, Europe, Ukraine and Russia all needed to be involved in ceasefire deals.
Athena Stavrou17 February 2025 04:00
Putin eager for peace deal, says Trump
Donald Trump on Sunday said he believed Vladimir Putin is eager for a deal, while also noting that Russia has historically impressed on the battlefield.
“I think he wants to stop fighting,” Mr Trump said. “They have a big powerful machine, you understand that they defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. They’ve been fighting a long time.”
Heather Conley, a deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Europe during Republican President George W Bush’s administration, said that with Mr Trump’s current approach to Moscow, the US appears to be “seeking to create a new international approach based on a modern-day concert of great powers”.
“As in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it is only for the great powers to decide the fate of nations and to take — either by purchase or force — that which strengthens the great powers’ economic and security interests,” Ms Conley said.
“Each of these powers posit claims or coerce countries in their respective regional spheres of influence.
“There is some debate inside the administration about its developing approach to Moscow, with some more in favor of a rapid rapprochement and others wary that Mr Putin is looking to fray the Euro-Atlantic alliance as he aims to reclaim Russian status and wield greater influence on the continent, according to the US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mr Trump said last week that he would like to see Russia rejoin what is now the Group of Seven major economies. Russia was suspended from the G8 after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region.
Namita Singh17 February 2025 03:58
US attempts damage control amid mounting criticism for sidelining Europe in peace talks
White House officials on Sunday pushed back against the notion that Europe has been left out of the conversation regarding a peace deal for Ukraine.
Officials said Donald Trump spoke by phone in recent days with French president Emmanuel Macron and is expected to consult prime minister Keir Starmer this week.
During his visits to Munich and Paris, vice president JD Vance held talks with Mr Macron, British foreign secretary David Lammy, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte as well as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Now they may not like some of this sequencing that is…
Read More: Russia Ukraine war latest: Starmer says he is willing to put British troops in