British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that the UK is “ready and willing” to send troops to Ukraine (-> current news from the Ukraine war) to secure a possible peace agreement.
Starmer emphasized to “The Telegraph”that he had not taken the decision to put British servicemen and women at risk lightly. It is the first time he has explicitly considered the possibility of a British peacekeeping mission in Ukraine.
His statement comes shortly before a meeting with European heads of state and government in Paris on Monday. The emergency meeting was called by French President Emmanuel Macron after it became known that European politicians had not been invited to the current peace talks between the US and Russia. In addition, high-ranking representatives of the US government under Donald Trump have signaled that American security support for Europe could be reduced.
Starmer’s statement increases the pressure on European allies to publicly back the idea of a European peacekeeping force for Ukraine. At the same time, he emphasized that the UK could play a “unique role” as a bridge between Europe and the USA in the peace process.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of Russia and the USA will meet in Saudi Arabia to begin talks on a possible peace agreement.
