Keir Starmer to meet Donald Trump for Ukraine talks with a blunt message
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is to tell Donald Trump there must be a role for European countries including the UK in any agreement to end the war in Ukraine, when he meets the US President in Washington next week.
This could include sending British troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers, despite Russian complaints that the presence of NATO forces would be unacceptable.
It’s believed the UK could contribute to a 30,000-strong European army protecting Ukraine’s key cities, ports and critical national infrastructure.
The US would not be expected to send ground troops, but Sir Keir is expected to urge Mr Trump to ensure peacekeepers are protected by US fighter jets and missiles based in Eastern Europe.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “We’ve been clear that there must be a role for Europe. And I think that is a view that is shared by the Trump administration, and that’s the conversation that the Prime Minister will be having next week when he travels to the United States.”
It follows so-called peace talks between the US and Russia in Saudi Arabia to end the war which began with Russia’s unprovoked invasion three years ago. Ukraine and European nations were not involved in the discussions.
The US President continued to face a barrage of criticism over his comments claiming Ukraine was to blame for the war, which began when Russia launched an invasion of its neighbour, and calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” for cancelling an election due last year.
Defence Secretary John Healey compared Mr Zelensky to UK wartime leader Winston Churchill, pointing out that British elections were cancelled during the Second World War.
Mr Healey said the UK was “leading” discussions about how to provide security for Ukraine if the war with Russia ended, but refused to confirm this could involve deploying the nation’s armed forces.
Speaking in Norway, which has a land border with Russia, Mr Healey said: “Our Prime Minister has made the commitment that if we reach a ceasefire, we reach an end to the fighting, security guarantees will be needed and Britain is ready to play a full part in that.”
Sir Keir has previously stated that the UK is “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.
But the Kremlin last night said this would be unacceptable. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This causes concern for us, because we’re talking about sending military contingents — about the possible, eventual sending of military contingents from Nato countries to Ukraine.”
Mr Trump doubled down in his remarks as he spoke in Miami, saying the Ukrainian leader must “move fast because that war is going in the wrong direction. In the meantime, we’re successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something all admit only Trump is going to be able to do”.
Conservative MP Graham Stuart said: “President Trump is betraying everything that the USA stands for”. Fellow Tory MP Simon Hoare said: “Trump’s an egotistical stranger to the truth and ignorant of history.”
Even Reform leader Nigel Farage, a friend and political ally of Mr Trump, broke ranks to insist President Zelensky is “not a dictator”. Mr Farage said: “Russia is to blame for the invasion. Of that there is no doubt.”
European Union spokesman Stefan de Keersmaecker said: “Ukraine is a democracy, Putin’s Russia is not.” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced he would visit Kyiv on Monday “to reaffirm Spain’s support for the Ukrainian democracy and President Zelensky.”
Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s Ukraine envoy, yesterday met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv but a planned press conference due to feature the pair was abruptly cancelled.
However Mr Putin’s propagandists in Russia were jubilant. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, said Mr Trump is “200 per cent right”.
There were cross-party calls for a return to conscription or national service as the prospect of UK troops entering Ukraine loomed.
Ex-MP Tobias Ellwood, former chair of the Commons defence committee, said the world was “getting more dangerous”. He said: “That’s why I’ve actually called for a return of national service. We’ve got an era of insecurity.”
Labour MP Paulette Hamilton told Channel 5’s Jeremy Vine show that young people could “no longer bury their hands in the sand” as “our borders are being threatened”.
She said: “I do think we need to start the serious discussions around conscription.”
Former Chancellor George Osborne said Sir Keir faced “one of the biggest calls” of his premiership and could find himself leading “a wartime government”.
