This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to consider deploying British forces in Ukraine to help enforce any peace agreement, but only under certain conditions.
Speaking to reporters in Paris on February 17, Starmer said he was “prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others, if there is a lasting peace agreement.”
However, he added that “there must be a U.S. backstop, because a U.S. security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”
Starmer made his remarks after joining the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, the European Commission, the European Council, and NATO in the French capital to discuss Ukraine’s security amid growing concern that Washington could strike a deal with Russia counter to European security interests.
When asked about how many troops the United Kingdom was prepared to send to Ukraine for peacekeeping, Starmer had no direct answer.
“We are at early stages of discussions; they haven’t started yet,” he said.
Following the Paris meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz criticized idea of sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, saying the debate was “completely premature” and “highly inappropriate” while the war is ongoing.
Earlier in the day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also said his country was not planning to send its troops to Ukraine to ensure security but will continue to provide financial and military aid.
Scholz added that, in his view, there should be no division between Europe and the United States on responsibility for Ukraine’s security.
“NATO is based on the fact that we always act together and share the risk, thereby ensuring our security. This must not be called into question,” Scholz said.
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, told a meeting of Ukraine’s military allies at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Washington would not deploy troops to Ukraine in any agreed peace deal and that NATO membership is not seen by the White House as part of the solution to the conflict.
Ahead of the talks in Paris, Starmer had said in an article in The Daily Telegraph that London was “ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine. This includes further support for Ukraine’s military – where the U.K. has already committed 3 billion pounds [$3.8 billion] a year until at least 2030.”
“But it also means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary,” he added. “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.”
“But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent and the security of this country,” he said. “The end of this war, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before [Russian President Vladimir] Putin attacks again.”
The Telegraph also reported that an official familiar with Starmer’s thinking stated his decision to go public ahead of the Paris summit was in part due to remarks by U.S. representatives at the Munich Security Conference setting out that Europe would have to play a greater role in its own defense.
“This is the moment for us all to step up – and the U.K. will do so, because it is the right thing to do for the values and freedoms we hold dear, and because it is fundamental to our own national security,” the prime minister wrote in his article.
Starmer is expected to relay to U.S. President Donald Trump the results of the Paris discussions when the two meet, likely later this month, in Washington.
Trump is sending a team of senior U.S. officials to Saudi Arabia to discuss the war with Russian officials, although full details and the timing of those talks have not been disclosed. Ukraine says it has not been invited and will not attend those talks.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on February 16 bid to reassure Ukraine and Europe, saying that they would be part of any “real negotiations” to end the war.
