Britain and France to send 'reassurance force' to Ukraine after latest peace talks
27 March 2025, 15:21 | Updated: 27 March 2025, 16:05
Britain and France are drawing up plans to send a "reassurance force" to Ukraine, Sir Keir Starmer has said following the latest round of peace talks.
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The two countries will send military chiefs to Kyiv as they asses how to keep Ukraine prepared for the future, the Prime Minister said following a summit in Paris this afternoon.
Up to 30 countries have been involved at the planning meetings, with "different countries are putting forward different capabilities," Starmer said.
Referencing Macron, Starmer added that the "group asked Emmanuel and me to lead the co-ordination of the efforts we have touched on this morning."
But Starmer insisted peacekeeping plans were still in motion, saying it was his “long-standing position” that Parliament would have a say when the time comes for deploying British troops.
He added that any “reassurance force” would also need support from the US.
"This is done in recognition that we also need US involvement," the Prime Minister told reporters.
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The British-French delegation will also be joined by a team from Germany, with Starmer saying Britain is "ready" to to come up with an "operational" deal.
"We will be ready to operationalise a peace deal whenever its precise shape turns out to be, and we will work together to ensure Ukraine’s security so it can defend and deter against the future,” Starmer said.
He added: "This is a group of countries coming together because each country is taking that leadership role at a crucial moment
"This is of course about Ukraine, but it's also about the future of defence in Europe more generally," he added.
He urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the table in the coming "days and weeks".
“I don’t want to put a hard deadline on this but we need to see this developing in days and weeks, not months and months.
“It is clear the Russians are playing games...it is a classic from the Putin playbook,” he said.
The Prime Minister also called on stronger sanctions against Russia.
“There was a very strong resolve across the room that now is not the time for pulling back or weakening old sanctions,” he said.
Starmer added:"On the contrary, now is the time for increasing sanctions on Russia.”
Donald Trump's administration has shown no public enthusiasm for the coalition's discussions about potentially sending troops into Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire to help make peace stick.
The US president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has dismissed the idea of a European deployment or even the need for it.
This week, the White House said the US and Russia agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.
The United States added it had made separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to ensure all navigation through the area is protected and risks minimised.
The deal is said to ban the use of air strikes against energy facilities in both countries as part of a wider ceasefire effort.
It comes after Kyiv and Moscow agreed in principle last week to a limited ceasefire after US President Donald Trump spoke with the countries' leaders, but the parties have offered different views of what targets would be off-limits to attack.
The White House said "energy and infrastructure" would be covered, the Kremlin declared that the agreement referred more narrowly to "energy infrastructure".
