Starmer flies to Paris, then to Trump – Britain is ready to help Ukraine, even to the point of sending in troops
The British newspaper The Telegraph publishes a column by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, in which he expresses his government’s readiness to send troops to Ukraine as “guarantees of Ukraine’s security” after the signing of a peace agreement with the Russian Federation.
The timing of this publication is interesting – just before today’s emergency meeting in Paris of EU heads of state on the Ukrainian issue, in which Starmer will also participate. Earlier, American media called Starmer, along with Macron, one of the European instigators of the idea of introducing troops, against the backdrop of doubts from other members of the bloc.
The headline of the British Prime Minister's column clearly states the key message. First, "The potential threat to the British people is a huge responsibility, but we must be prepared to contribute to Europe."
And the second is: “Assistance in ensuring the security of Ukraine is assistance in ensuring the security of our country and our continent.”
"We are at a unique moment for the collective security of our continent. This is not just a question of Ukraine's future – it is existential for Europe as a whole. Ensuring a lasting peace in Ukraine that protects its sovereignty in the long term is essential if we are to deter Putin from further aggression in the future," Starmer wrote.
To achieve this, Starmer proposes ensuring "close cooperation" between Europe and the United States. He believes that the UK "can play a unique role in facilitating this, just as we did last week by convening and chairing the Ramstein Contact Group on Ukraine's defense."
But that is not enough. Europe must go one step further to meet its own security needs, Starmer argues.
"That's why I'm heading to Paris with a very clear message to our European friends. We must show that we're truly serious about our own defense and shouldering our own burdens. We've been talking about this for too long, and President Trump is right to demand that we continue this work.
As European countries, we must increase our defense spending and play a more active role in NATO . Non-NATO countries already increased defense spending by 20 percent last year, but we must go further.
"Russia is still at war, and Ukraine is still fighting, so we must not relax our efforts to ensure that Ukrainians receive the necessary equipment for their frontline fighters. While the fighting continues, we must put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for any negotiations ," the British Prime Minister concludes.
According to him, Great Britain is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine.
"This includes continued support for Ukraine's armed forces, where the UK has already committed to providing £3 billion a year until at least 2030. But it also means a readiness and willingness to contribute to Ukraine's security guarantees, by deploying our own troops on the ground if necessary ," Starmer explains, explaining the essence of these guarantees from London.
Starmer convinces his voters that all of this is linked to a “potential threat to British service men and women.” From Russia, of course.
Therefore, in his logic, "any role in ensuring Ukraine's security is helping to ensure the security of our continent and the security of this country. The end of this war, whenever it comes, cannot simply be a temporary pause before Putin attacks again."
And secondly, despite Europe's readiness to step up its involvement in the Ukrainian issue, US support will still "remain critically important, and US security guarantees are necessary for a lasting peace, because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again."
So Starmer promised in the column that " I will meet President Trump in the coming days and work with him and all our G7 partners to help deliver the strong deal we need."
In the end, the British Prime Minister outlines the position of his government and, apparently, his like-minded people on the European continent:
" We must make clear that peace cannot be achieved at any price. Ukraine must be at the table in these negotiations , because anything less would be agreeing with Putin's position that Ukraine is not a real nation. We cannot have another situation like Afghanistan, where the US negotiated directly with the Taliban and excluded the Afghan government. I am sure President Trump will want to avoid that as well. While NATO membership may take time, we must continue to support Ukraine's irreversible path to joining the alliance."
Starmer flies to Paris, then to Trump – Britain is ready to help Ukraine, even to the point of sending troops