United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated that he is prepared to deploy troops to Ukraine if necessary, just hours before European leaders convene in Paris on Monday to address Washington’s unexpected shift in policy regarding the war.
United States President Donald Trump last week bypassed Kyiv and its European allies by engaging directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss initiating negotiations to end the conflict.
With Trump indicating that he could meet Putin “very soon,” European leaders are hastening to Paris for high-level discussions on the continent’s security.
Describing the situation as a “once-in-a-generation moment,” Starmer expressed his willingness to commit British troops to the ground if required. “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 wrote in the Daily Telegraph late Sunday.
Trump has asserted that he believes Putin genuinely wants to end hostilities in Ukraine, while his administration has warned NATO allies that Europe will no longer be its top security priority.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also appeared to dismiss the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO or reclaiming all the territory it has lost since 2014.
The upcoming meeting in Paris will be attended by leaders from the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Additionally, Antonio Costa, President of the European Council representing the EU’s 27 nations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will also participate.
The French presidency stated that the meeting would focus on “the situation in Ukraine” and “security in Europe.”
An adviser from French President Emmanuel Macron’s office emphasized the urgency of European action, given recent statements from US leaders. “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,” the adviser noted.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has pushed for negotiations between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia—talks expected in the coming days—to discuss not just the Ukraine conflict but also broader European security concerns.
European nations worry that Putin could renew demands he had made before the 2022 invasion, including limitations on NATO forces in Eastern Europe and US involvement on the continent.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, sought to temper expectations regarding any immediate breakthroughs in upcoming negotiations with Russian officials.
“A process towards peace is not a one-meeting thing,” he said in an interview with CBS. “Nothing’s been finalised yet,” he added, explaining that the objective is to create an opening for a broader dialogue that “would include Ukraine and would involve the end of the war.”
Rubio is set to travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday as part of a Middle East tour, which he began over the weekend in Israel.
Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has indicated that while Europe will not be directly involved in US-Russia talks on Ukraine, it will still have “input.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, responding to these developments, has called for the establishment of a European army, asserting that the continent can no longer depend on Washington for security.
Meeting in Paris last week, the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and Spain reiterated that any “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine could not be achieved without the involvement of Kyiv and its European partners.
