Donald Trump has not ruled out sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, the US President’s peace envoy said on Monday. “The policy has always been that you take no options off the table,” General Keith Kellogg told reporters after meeting with European Nato allies in Brussels. “You don’t want to get into a negotiating position where options are taken up.”. Gen Kellogg’s words will serve as reassurance to European leaders fearful they would have to shoulder the entire burden of policing any ceasefire brokered by Mr Trump.
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany clashed over sending troops to Ukraine at emergency talks in Paris to formulate a response to the US President’s decision to open peace talks with Vladimir Putin. Gen Kellogg separately briefed the North Atlantic Council, Nato’s political decision-making body, as part of the wider effort to include European nations in the process. In a bid to counter fears over Ukraine being forced to accept an unsatisfactory deal, the envoy said: “He [Volodymyr Zelensky] will and the people of Ukraine will make that call.”.
Thanks for following our coverage. This live blog is now closed. Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, has said that Ukraine “deserves peace through strength” in a deal which respects its “territorial integrity”. “Peace through strength” is the catchphrase associated with Donald Trump, the US President, who uses it to describe his “America First” approach to foreign policy.
“Today in Paris we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength,” Ms von der Leyen wrote on social media. “Peace respectful of its independ[e]nce, sovereignty, territorial integrity, with strong security guarantees. “Europe carries its full share of the military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time we need a surge in defence in Europe.”. Today in Paris we reaffirmed that Ukraine deserves peace through strength.
Peace respectful of its independance, sovereignty, territorial integrity, with strong security guarantees. Europe carries its full share of the military assistance to Ukraine. At the same time we need… pic.twitter.com/xdAnkeWr4v. Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, has warned that US attempts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine will put the rest of Europe in danger. Ms Frederiksen, speaking after emergency talks with European leaders, warned that Moscow is “threatening all of Europe now”.
Donald Trump’s attempts to agree a “fast” ceasefire in Ukraine will give Russia the chance to “to mobilise again, attack Ukraine or another country in Europe”, she said, adding that Vladimir Putin was “threatening all Europe now”. Sir Keir Starmer has said Ukraine needs a “US security guarantee” to protect it from a future Russian invasion. The Prime Minister, who has previously said he is willing to put British troops in Ukraine, told Sky News this is “the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again”.
Sir Keir said he would travel to Washington next week to meet Donald Trump, the US President, to discuss “the key elements of a lasting peace”. When asked what a security guarantee would mean, the Prime Minister said that talks were still at an early stage. A Russian delegation including foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov has arrived in Saudi Arabia for high-level talks with US officials, according to Russian state television.
The Rossiya 24 news channel showed the officials disembarking a plane in the Saudi capital Riyadh. “The main thing is to begin a real normalisation of relations between us and Washington,” Mr Ushakov told a reporter after landing. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, is expected to be present for the talks along with the US’ national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, has said that calls to send peacekeepers to Ukraine are “completely premature” and “highly inappropriate” while the war is ongoing. “I am even a little irritated by these debates, I want to say that quite frankly,” he told reporters on Monday. “The discussion is being held over Ukraine’s heads, over the outcome of peace talks that have not taken place and to which Ukraine has not said yes and where it has not sat at the table,” he added.
“This is highly inappropriate, to put it quite frankly and honestly. We do not know what the outcome will be.”. Sir Keir Starmer has previously said he is “ready and willing” to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to guarantee its security. Sir Keir Starmer has arrived in Paris to join European leaders in holding an emergency summit on Ukraine. The British Prime Minister was greeted by Emmanuel Macron as he arrived at the Élysée Palace for the high-level talks.
