UK willing to ‘put own troops on ground’ in Ukraine if needed, says PM Starmer
The UK PM said, “Any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine's security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country.”
UK prime minister Keir Starmer on Monday said he was prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine "if necessary". The remark came in the backdrop of the United States' policy shift on the war since Donald Trump became the US president.
US President Donald Trump apparently sidelined Ukraine and its European leaders by calling his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss negotiation talks for bringing an end to the conflict.
With Trump's meeting with Putin likely to happen "very soon", leaders in Europe have been hastening to discuss the continent's security.
Starmer described a "once-in-a-generation moment" and said he was willing to put "our own troops on the ground if necessary".
"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 was cited by Daily Telegraph.
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Leaders from key European countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark are also expected at the Paris meeting, which comes just a week ahead of the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (February 24).
The meeting will also witness the presence of Antonio Costa, head of the European Council that represents the EU's 27 nations, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO general secretary Mark Rutte.
According to a statement from French president Emmanuel Macron's office, the meeting will address "the situation in Ukraine" and "security in Europe".
"Because of the acceleration of the Ukrainian issue, and as a result of what US leaders are saying, there is a need for Europeans to do more, better and in a coherent way, for our collective security," an adviser from Macron's office said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has been pushing for negotiations between the US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, to not just discuss the war in Ukraine but also the broader security concern in Europe.
EU nations are afraid that Russia's Putin could reiterate demands that he had made before the 2022 invasion, in connection with limiting NATO forces in eastern Europe and American involvement in the continent.
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Notably, Donald Trump has said that he believes Putin genuinely wants to put a stop to the fighting in Ukraine, while his administration has also warned that its NATO allies Europe will no longer be its top security priority.
US defence chief Pete Hegseth also appeared to rule Ukraine's seat in NATO or retaking any of its lost territory from Russia.
Additionally, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed the outcome of any talks between Washington and Moscow, saying that "a process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing".
"Nothing's been finalised yet," he said, adding that the aim was to seek an opening for a broader conversation that "would include Ukraine and would involve the end of the war".
Trump's Ukraine special envoy, Keith Kellogg, has also said that Europe would not be a direct part of the talks on Kyiv, though it would still have "input".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday called for a creation of an European army, arguing that with such a power, the continent could no longer need to count on Washington.
(with AFP inputs)