British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer is seen during a meeting on the situation in Ukraine and security issues in Europe at the Elysée Palace in Paris, France on February 17, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is willing to deploy British peacekeeping troops in Ukraine if needed. His remarks come shortly before Trump administration officials are expected to meet Russian officials in Riyadh on Tuesday (February 18, 2025) to increase bilateral engagement and to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. The leaders of the EU and U.K. were not invited to the talks, meeting instead in Paris on Monday (February 17, 2025) to discuss the war and the negotiations.
Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, Mr Starmer said the U.K. was ready to play a leadership role in terms of security guarantees for Ukraine. This would not just mean continuing financial assistance to Kyiv, he said, but also “putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.”
Mr Starmer also wrote that Ukraine would had to have a place at the negotiation table. He also called for U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine and for European countries to do more for the security of the continent.
Mr Starmer warned that Europe was facing a “once in a generation” moment in terms of its security and an “existential” question not just for Ukraine but also Europe.
Mr Starmer said that in Paris he would tell his counterparts that Europe had to do more for its own security. Mr Trump has been pushing members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance to spend 5% annually of their GDP on defence, up from the guideline 2%. The UK’s figure is currently 2.3% , with plans to spend 2.5% of GDP, but without a set deadline reach that target.
“We have got to show we are truly serious about our own defence and bearing our own burden. We have talked about it for too long — and president Trump is right to demand that we get on with it,” Mr Starmer wrote.
The Prime Minister is also hoping to capitalize on a possibility that Mr Trump’s approach to the U.K. is different from his view of the EU, with US-EU ties fraying. Mr Trump had said that he liked Mr Starmer “a lot” at the end of January and the British Prime Minister is expected at the White House at the end of the month.
“U.S. support will remain critical and a U.S. security guarantee is essential for a lasting peace, because only the US can deter Putin from attacking,” Mr Starmer wrote, adding that he would press Mr Trump for a “strong” deal for Ukraine.
“Ukraine must be at the table in these negotiations, because anything less would accept Putin’s position that Ukraine is not a real nation,” Mr Starmer wrote. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected any deal without Kyiv at the table.
On Monday Mr Zelenskyy said that he did not know about the U.S.-Russia talks and was not participating in them. On Sunday, Mr Trump had said that the Ukrainian president would be involved in the talks.
“We cannot have another situation like Afghanistan, where the US negotiated directly with the Taliban and cut out the Afghan government,” Mr Starmer wrote, adding that he felt Mr Trump would also want to avoid a repeat of such a situation.
Published – February 17, 2025 09:43 pm IST
