Peacekeepers should act as a security guarantee for Ukraine in the event of an agreement with the Russian Federation on a ceasefire.
British and French leaders Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are discussing sending British and French soldiers to Ukraine as peacekeepers after a potential agreement on a ceasefire action.
The Telegraph reports this.
The French president has already discussed the idea with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Officials in London and Paris are keeping details of the conversations under wraps. However, multiple UK government sources say discussions are underway, although no final decision has been made.
“There are issues about what we can support, what we would want to support, and the wider question of the risks that the mission might pose for these troops and whether it would be an escalation,” one of the sources told The Telegraph.
Publicly, the UK government's position is that Western allies should provide Zelensky with as much support as possible, while the Ukrainians themselves should decide whether and when to hold talks.
Privately, the newspaper writes, ministers and politicians expect Trump to force Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table and are already considering what will happen next.
One idea that is now increasingly being discussed not only in public debate but also behind closed doors in Westminster is whether Western troops to guarantee compliance with the terms of the agreement and the security of the territory controlled by Kyiv.
The idea is that the border between Ukraine and Russia, with the creation of a demilitarized buffer zone, will be guarded by troops from the UK and European allies.
Any deployment of troops will put significant pressure on the Ministry of Defense budget at a time when the Treasury is looking for ways to cut spending. In addition, the deployment of thousands of British troops at a time when the military leadership has already warned that the United Kingdom does not have the capacity to wage war could be perceived by Russia as an escalation.
Recall that French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed sending a European peacekeeping mission to Ukraine to protect against Russian aggression. However, according to public figure Yuri Rashkin, the US is unlikely to support this initiative, especially under the presidency of Donald Trump.
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