Russian President Vladimir Putin would “breach” a peace deal with Ukraine if it is not defended, Sir Keir Starmer has said, after attending a meeting of senior military leaders in London.
The UK prime minister said any agreement to stop the fighting between Russia and Ukraine would “only be lasting” if there were “security arrangements in place”.
He was speaking at a military base in Northwood, north-west London, where more than 20 countries gathered on Thursday to discuss proposals for troops in Ukraine to help guarantee the country’s security as part of any peace deal.
Sir Keir said the UK and its allies were moving from “political momentum” to “military planning”, which he said had “to be done now” before a deal was agreed.
He said: “It is vitally important we do that work because we know one thing for certain, which is a deal without anything behind it is something that Putin will breach.
“We know that because it happened before. I’m absolutely clear in my mind it will happen again”.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey was at the closed meeting military leaders from countries which form part of what Sir Keir has dubbed the “coalition of the willing”.
The UK called the meeting of military chiefs after a summit earlier this month attended by 26 countries.
The potential deployment of troops should be described as a “reassurance force” rather than a “peacekeeping force”, defence and diplomatic sources say.
Earlier, Sir Keir told reporters on a visit to Cumbria the talks were focussing on how to “keep the skies, and the seas, and the borders safe in Ukraine”.
Meanwhile during a visit to Norway, Zelensky has said Russia “must stop making unnecessary demands that only prolong the war”.
Calls between US President Donald Trump, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have failed to produce the 30-day ceasefire envisaged by the White House.
Zelensky has said Ukrainian officials will meet their US counterparts in Saudi Arabia next Monday, after the Kremlin confirmed US-Russia talks there the same day.
