PARIS (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that a U.S. security commitment was the only way to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine and it was too early to say how many British peacekeeping troops he would be willing to deploy.
When asked what a U.S. security guarantee would mean and what role any peacekeeping troops would have, Starmer said discussions were still at an early stage.
But Starmer said that it was clear after an emergency meeting of European leaders in Paris that leaders would need to raise defence spending and take more responsibility for security on the continent.
“Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others, if there is a lasting peace agreement, but 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 told reporters.
Starmer said he expected there would be another round of talks with European leaders on Ukraine after he returns from a trip to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington next week to discuss Kyiv’s almost three-year war with Russia.
On Sunday, Starmer become the first European leader to say he is ready to put peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)