US President Donald Trump told visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday that a ceasefire “deal” must be established first in Ukraine before foreign troop deployments can be decided.
“You’re talking about a peacekeeping force. We have to make a deal first. Right now we don’t have a deal... I think we’re very well advanced on the deal, but we have not made a deal yet, so I don’t like to talk about peacekeeping until we have a deal,” Trump said while addressing reporters alongside Starmer.
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However, AFP noted that some European countries want measures to ensure security to be an integral part of ceasefire talks.
Following the closed-door discussions, Starmer reiterated that the UK “is ready to put boots on the ground” at the joint press conference.
“I’m working closely with other European leaders on this, and I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last,” Starmer said.
Later, a reporter asked Starmer if he received a “satisfying answer” on his earlier requests for a US-backed “backstop” for Europe if the peacekeeping forces end up in Ukraine, to which Starmer acknowledged that a deal “has to come first” before troop deployments can be finalized.
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“As the president says, the deal has to come first. But yes, our team is gonna be talking about how we make sure that deal sticks, is lasting, and enforced,” Starmer said.
Starmer also said he would discuss support for Ukraine and stepping up European defenses with other European leaders in the coming days following his conversation with Trump.
The UK and France have voiced openness to deploying some 30,000 peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in future peace settlements. Though Berlin has ruled out troop deployments, German defense officials said the idea might be considered once a framework is in place, according to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is open to European peacekeepers in Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly opposed the idea.
Turkey, a NATO member with the second-largest army in NATO after the US, is reportedly open to deploying troops to Ukraine if Ankara is involved in all relevant discussions and preparations, according to Bloomberg.
Support for Ukraine is believed to be the key agenda for Starmer’s Thursday meeting with Trump, as Trump’s intention to roll back the US’s presence in Europe has prompted concerns that Trump might sever the decades-old transatlantic alliance.
Starmer wants to act as a “bridge” between Europe and the United States to ensure that any settlement to end the conflict provides Ukraine with territorial and security guarantees.
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