US must provide ‘backstop’ to deter Russia, PM says after talks on Ukraine

Sir Keir Starmer has called for the US to provide a “backstop” to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again after meeting European leaders for emergency talks on the future of the war.

The Prime Minister warned that allies across the continent – including Britain – will have to “take responsibility” for its security by bolstering both defence spending and capability following a meeting with partners in Paris on Monday.

Sir Keir has said he would be prepared to put a peacekeeping force into Ukraine in the event of a deal to end Russia’s war after Washington warned it would reduce its defence commitments in Europe.

But after meeting European counterparts in the French capital, he said a US security guarantee would be the only way to prevent Moscow from attacking the country again in future.

“Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others if there is a lasting peace agreement,” he said.

“But there must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”

Sir Keir Starmer, left, leaves an informal meeting of leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom, at the Elysee Palace in Paris | AP

The Prime Minister is to fly to the US next week for talks with Donald Trump as part of a visit announced earlier on Monday as the US president pushes for a deal with Russia amid fears of Kyiv remaining excluded from discussions.

“At stake is not just the future of Ukraine. It is an existential question for Europe as a whole, and therefore vital for Britain’s national interest,” Sir Keir said.

“This is a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our own continent. Only a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty will deter Putin from further aggression in the future.

“Recent statements by the US administration should not come as a surprise. President Trump has long expressed the wish for Europe to step up and meet the demands of its own security, that he wants to get a lasting peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine.

“So today’s informal meeting of European leaders was a vital first step in responding to that. On defence, it’s clear the US is not going to leave Nato, but we Europeans will have to do more.

“The issue of burden-sharing is not new, but it is now pressing, and Europeans will have to step up, both in terms of spending and the capabilities that we provide.”

Sir Keir, along with European allies, has insisted Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any peace deal with Russia amid fears of Washington and Moscow going over the heads of leaders on the continent.

It comes as US secretary of state Marco Rubio led a delegation to Saudi Arabia for discussions with Russian officials that will look to seek an end to the fighting.

Ukraine has not been invited to the talks and will not accept the outcome if Kyiv is not involved, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday.

“We’re facing a generational challenge when it comes to national security,” Sir Keir told reporters in Bristol before his trip to Paris.

“Obviously, the immediate question is the future of Ukraine, and we must continue to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position whatever happens next, and to make sure that if there is peace, and we all want peace, that it is lasting.”

Sir Keir is unlikely to go beyond his commitment to set out a plan to increase defence spending to a 2.5 per cent share of the economy, despite calls from Mr Trump to hike spending to 5 per cent and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte’s suggestion that allies should spend more than 3 per cent.

The UK currently spends around 2.3 per cent of gross national product on defence.

Earlier on Monday, Downing Street did not rule out the prospect of a vote on the matter of a peacekeeping role for UK troops in Ukraine.

Responding to the suggestion of boots on the ground, SNP MP Stephen Gethins claimed any response must come from Europe, not just Britain.

He said: “There needs to be a co-ordinated response. The United States is now an unreliable security partner and that means as Europeans, we need to rely on each other, co-ordinate with each other, and have a deeper partnership in defence and foreign policy affairs.

“I think it’s really difficult before you know what a stabilisation force is there for. We need to up the aid to Ukraine, because Ukrainians soldiers are not just dying for their own independence, but the freedom and rights of all Europeans. They deserve all the support that we can give them.

“I think we need to stop thinking simply about what the British do and what we as Europeans do. The answer does not lie in a single European state. The answer lies in what we collectively do as Europeans. For the British, that means coming to terms with what the world actually looks like now, and that means the UK bluntly getting over itself with the Brexit nonsense.”

Scottish Labour MP Graeme Downie was one of several MPs to call for an increase in defence spending, arguing the UK does not have the capability for a peacekeeping force without it.

He said: “I welcome the PM’s commitment for UK troops to play a part in the future of securing Ukraine democracy and that being done with European partners and allies as the PM has indicated.

“This does raise the question as to whether the 2.5 per cent commitment to defence spending is enough, or whether we will need to exceed that and quickly.

“If you’re going to commit troops to the ground, aircraft in the air or additional UK forces to a mission in Ukraine, defence spending will have to increase because we already know the current capability after Tory cuts is not up to those current commitments. Any increase should also be targeted at supporting the UK defence sector, and targeting jobs and growth.”

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael suggested committing troops before knowing what a peace deal looked like was “premature”.

The Orkney and Shetland MP said: “If I have learned nothing else over the years, it’s that committing troops to a conflict, even a peacekeeping mission, without drawing limits on it or having an exit strategy is not always a particularly effective idea.”

Concerns were also raised by former SNP defence spokesperson and MP Stewart McDonald, who was previously given a state honour by President Zelensky. He told The Scotsman a force would be needed, but it was unrealistic to expect one without increasing defence spending.

He said: “Any agreement that is reached has to be an agreement that Ukraine has been involved in and is happy to be involved in and happy to be signatories to.

“Yes, it will need a peacekeeping force, ideally with American and European troops, but American troops look unlikely. It completely makes sense for the UK to have a footprint in that along with other European countries, and that should be to uphold whatever the peace agreement is. If you had a UN peacekeeping force there, they would be neutral.

“Our forces would not be neutral, they would be there to uphold the agreement and ensure Russia doesn’t violate it. And if they do, they will be responded to by troops on the ground.

“Defence spending has to rise, 2.5 per cent allows Britain to wash its face, but realistically it needs to go up to at least 3.5 per cent by the 2030s.

“The European part of Nato needs to rethink how it approaches its international security. We have relied on the American umbrella for many decades, but that umbrella is just not there any more.”