Telegraph Reports: UK and France Allegedly in Secret Talks to Deploy Troops to Ukraine
According to reports, London has not yet agreed to Paris's proposal to deploy “peacekeepers” to uphold a potential ceasefire between Kiev and Moscow. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
According to government sources, London is reportedly uncertain about the proposal of sending soldiers into Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have reportedly discussed the possibility of deploying soldiers to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force, as suggested by the Telegraph, which cited anonymous sources.
The idea was initially mentioned by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, who indicated he would talk about it with Starmer during his upcoming visit to Kiev. However, the Telegraph reports that Starmer remains hesitant about the proposal.
“There are challenges over what we could support, what would we want to support, and the broader question about the threat that those troops may be under and whether that is escalatory,” a source from Whitehall told the Telegraph on Wednesday evening.
Spokespeople for both 10 Downing Street and the Elysee Palace refrained from denying that Starmer and Macron had discussed the potential for peacekeepers during their meeting last week at Chequers, although they did not provide further details about the discussion.
On Thursday, Starmer visited Kiev and promised a “100-year partnership” pact with Ukraine.
Reports suggest that one of the plans being considered by US President-elect Donald Trump after assuming office next Monday could involve deploying Western troops as peacekeepers along the demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, following the current line of conflict. According to these media reports, no US forces would participate; rather, only “European” troops not acting under NATO command would be involved, though these claims remain unverified.
Macron reportedly raised the idea of “European” peacekeepers with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month, but Warsaw responded that it was “not planning any such actions.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky announced on social media that he had been in discussions with “key allies” regarding the “practical steps” for implementing the peacekeeping initiative.
“We are getting slightly ahead of ourselves. We are not there yet,” one British official informed the Telegraph.
Calls for deploying troops in Ukraine have garnered support from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, and two ex-defense ministers, Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified in February 2022, the UK has provided £12.8 billion in military and civilian aid to Ukraine and has reportedly trained around 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers on British territory.
Recently, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the British government's ongoing support for Ukraine indicates that London “clearly does not seek to resolve the conflict,” accusing the UK of “doing everything possible to make it drag on, thus prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have reportedly discussed the possibility of deploying soldiers to Ukraine as a peacekeeping force, as suggested by the Telegraph, which cited anonymous sources.
The idea was initially mentioned by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, who indicated he would talk about it with Starmer during his upcoming visit to Kiev. However, the Telegraph reports that Starmer remains hesitant about the proposal.
“There are challenges over what we could support, what would we want to support, and the broader question about the threat that those troops may be under and whether that is escalatory,” a source from Whitehall told the Telegraph on Wednesday evening.
Spokespeople for both 10 Downing Street and the Elysee Palace refrained from denying that Starmer and Macron had discussed the potential for peacekeepers during their meeting last week at Chequers, although they did not provide further details about the discussion.
On Thursday, Starmer visited Kiev and promised a “100-year partnership” pact with Ukraine.
Reports suggest that one of the plans being considered by US President-elect Donald Trump after assuming office next Monday could involve deploying Western troops as peacekeepers along the demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine, following the current line of conflict. According to these media reports, no US forces would participate; rather, only “European” troops not acting under NATO command would be involved, though these claims remain unverified.
Macron reportedly raised the idea of “European” peacekeepers with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk last month, but Warsaw responded that it was “not planning any such actions.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky announced on social media that he had been in discussions with “key allies” regarding the “practical steps” for implementing the peacekeeping initiative.
“We are getting slightly ahead of ourselves. We are not there yet,” one British official informed the Telegraph.
Calls for deploying troops in Ukraine have garnered support from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, and two ex-defense ministers, Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson.
Since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensified in February 2022, the UK has provided £12.8 billion in military and civilian aid to Ukraine and has reportedly trained around 50,000 Ukrainian soldiers on British territory.
Recently, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the British government's ongoing support for Ukraine indicates that London “clearly does not seek to resolve the conflict,” accusing the UK of “doing everything possible to make it drag on, thus prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people.”
Anna Muller contributed to this report for TROIB News
