It is “unacceptable” for any foreign troops to conduct peacekeeping missions in Ukraine after the war concludes, Russia’s foreign minister has said. “The presence of troops from Nato countries, whether under foreign flags, EU flags, or their own national flags, does not change anything. This is, of course, unacceptable to us,” Sergei Lavrov said, following talks with the US in Saudi Arabia about ending the war in Ukraine.
Writing for The Telegraph on Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer called for Britain and other Nato members to send troops to Ukraine to act as peacekeepers, following warnings from Donald Trump that Europe could no longer depend on the US for its national security. Russian leaders also called on the West to “disavow” a 2008 promise to Ukraine signalling it could one day join Nato. “A refusal to accept Kyiv into Nato is not enough”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The Russian demands come after talks between delegations from the US and Moscow in which the two sides pledged to restore staffing at their respective embassies, to create a high-level team to support Ukraine peace talks and to explore closer relations and economic cooperation. Thank you for tuning in to our live blog as the US seeks to broker a Ukraine peace deal with Russia. We’ll be back tomorrow to bring you all the latest from talks over European security.
This live blog is now closed. Donald Trump can “restart a useful dialogue” with Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron has said. The French president told regional newspapers that Paris was not “preparing to send ground troops” to Ukrainian front lines, but that Britain and France are considering deploying “experts or even troops in limited terms, outside any conflict zone”. Mr Macron added that fresh talks would talks place on Wednesday “with several European and non-European states”, after an emergency meeting was called on Monday between European leaders.
The former chief of the British army said the UK’s armed forces are not big enough to contribute to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine after the war. Sir Keir Starmer wrote in The Telegraph that he is prepared to put “our own troops on the ground if necessary” in Ukraine if a peace settlement is reached with Vladimir Putin. However, General Sir David Richards has said that any force the UK could deploy would have little impact.
“The army’s total strength is about 72,000, but the deployable numbers are near 45 to 50,000 if that,” he told Sky news. “The force people are talking about would need all these people on an enduring basis. And the army’s just not big enough to do it to any great effect.”. Emmanuel Marcon invited a handpicked group of European leaders to the Elysée Palace today for a display of unity in support of Ukraine.
With Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz politically weakened and other European allies left floundering after Donald Trump went over their heads to directly engage Vladimir Putin, Mr Macron has sought to “impose himself as Europe’s strongman”, French political analyst Jean-Yves Camus said. But beneath the surface, cracks are starting to appear. Sir Keir Starmer has pushed for a “third way”, positioning himself as Europe’s key link to Washington while maintaining a firm pro-Ukraine stance.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has aligned herself with Mr Trump, while Olaf Scholz’s staunch opposition to US meddling in German affairs has set him on a collision course with Washington. As the US and Russia hash out a peace deal without European involvement, the continent remains at odds over the best path forward. Leaving Ukraine “broken” by a peace deal would be a “blight on Donald Trump’s presidency, Australia’s prime minister has warned.
“I really think it would be a blight on his presidency,” Tony Abbott told Sky news, following talks in Saudi Arabia between Russia and the US about bringing and end to the conflict. World have warned that any settlement with Moscow must involve Ukraine, with Canada’s foreign minister calling for “robust” security guarantees to be put in place to deter future Russian aggression. “We know very well that President Putin has no red lines and that after Ukraine, it can certainly be an attack against NATO territory,” Melanie Joly said, adding Kyiv “must” be at the negotiating table.
China supports all efforts conducive to peace talks in Ukraine, Beijing’s foreign minister has said. Wang Yi told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that Beijing “supports all efforts conducive to peace talks” and would stick to the four foreign policy points outlined by Xi Jinping in April last year. They are refraining from seeking selfish gains; not adding fuel to the fire; creating conditions for the restoration of peace; reducing a negative impact on the world economy; and refraining from undermining the stability of global industrial and supply chains, Xinhua news agency reported.
