PARIS, Feb 18: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged the United States to provide a security backstop for any future Ukraine peace deal, warning that without American involvement, Russia could launch further aggression.
His remarks came after a high-level European leadership summit in Paris, where stark divisions emerged over potential military commitments and the Trump administration’s unilateral approach to peace talks.
Addressing the press following protracted discussions with European counterparts, Starmer reiterated that while Europe must bolster its own defensive capabilities, a robust US security umbrella remains non-negotiable.
Starmer is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington next week to discuss the key elements of a possible peace deal.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, a key Nato ally, said that sending troops to Ukraine at present was “completely premature” and he was “a little irritated” by the topic, according to a report by BBC.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said transatlantic relations were in a “new stage”, and that the meeting had confirmed the time had come for “a much greater ability for Europe to defend itself”.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X in the early hours of Tuesday that he had “just spoken” with Trump and Zelensky.
“We will work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians. This is the key,” he said, adding that he “will continue these discussions in the coming days”.
Meanwhile, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Trump’s decision to engage in direct peace talks with Russia, asserting that Kyiv had neither been consulted nor would accept an agreement imposed without its involvement.
General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, a former Nato commander, said: “This cannot be a token force, it cannot be something that observes bad behaviour and stands on the sideline.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One that it would have to do “effectively what Nato does on its own turf – really deter aggression”, and would need to be “underpinned by a grand strategy for containment of Russia” that would make clear any future conflict would not be contained to Ukraine.
The former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, previously estimated such a force would need around 100,000 troops — with the UK contributing about two-fifths.
“We just haven’t got that number available,” he said on Saturday, adding that getting the military into shape to perform this role would come at a considerable cost.
The UK currently spends around 2.3 percent of its total economic output on defence. The government has committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5 percent but has not said when this will be achieved.
(UNI)
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