Starmer to present Trump with plan to deploy European troops in Ukraine - Telegraph
During his visit to Washington, D.C., British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will present a peacekeeping plan for Ukraine to U.S. President Donald Trump. The French side also worked on the plan.
According to Censor.NET, The Telegraph reports.
During a meeting in Washington next week, Starmer is expected to detail how European forces can monitor any ceasefire agreement brokered by the US president.
But, according to Western officials briefed on the plans, he will urge Trump to leave U.S. fighter jets and missiles on standby in Eastern Europe to respond with lethal force if Russia violates the terms of any truce.
The Anglo-French strategy for a "reassurance force" was presented to Europe's most powerful leaders at an emergency meeting in Paris earlier this week as they sought to respond to the start of Mr. Trump's peace talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
The plan was drawn up amid fears that the US president would "wash his hands" of Ukraine and any ceasefire almost immediately after any deal was concluded.
Starmer will argue to Trump that it is in the US interest to continue to participate in preventing a third Russian invasion after the end of hostilities.
Under the Anglo-French plan, up to 30,000 European-led troops would be deployed in Ukrainian cities, ports, and other critical infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants, far from the current front lines.
Instead of deploying a much larger force to the war-torn country, the mission will rely on "technical monitoring" including intelligence, surveillance aircraft, drones, and satellites to provide "a complete picture of what's going on," the Western official said.
The operation will be backed by sufficient firepower to "track and nullify" these attacks to reopen Ukraine's airspace and ensure commercial flights.
Maritime patrol ships will also be sent to the Black Sea to monitor Russian threats to commercial shipping routes.
Peacekeeping forces in Ukraine
Earlier, it was reported that French President Emmanuel Macron would discuss with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine in the event of an agreement to end the current phase of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk denied that Polish troops would be sent to Ukraine after the ceasefire.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas assessed the possibility of sending a European peacekeeping mission to Ukraine.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crozetto expressed his readiness to support a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine if peace is achieved.
In turn, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called these discussions "premature."
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry stated that several countries are currently considering participation in a potential contingent of Western allies in Ukraine. However, specific plans for the deployment of foreign troops are still under discussion.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that Russia is categorically negative about the prospect of European troops in Ukraine, no matter what role they take on.
