Everyone agrees that it is necessary to support Ukraine, but not everyone agrees to send troops to the ground
The Plan of the United Kingdom for lasting peace begins to shape. Kier Stramer, British Prime Minister, already calls him the “coalition of predisposed”, which should imply the sending of European troops to Ukraine, and Portugal, one of the countries present at Saturday’s meeting, has already admitted the possible shipping of troops.
London said on Monday that he expects “more than 30 countries” to join a coalition whose purpose will be to help guarantee a lasting peace in Ukraine, the Stmerer government is advancing, however, that many of the nations involved are unwilling to put military forces in the region.
In the opposite spectrum are the United Kingdom, France and Australia, who have already expressed that they are available to send troops to ensure the fulfillment of a ceasefire in Ukraine. Still, the three countries warn that any peace solution can only be realized if the US provides military “support”. Denmark and Sweden were also available to help with some for the formation of a peace force, including with the sending of troops.
This multinational force may have up to 30,000 soldiers, but the general defense experts heard by the Financial Times tend to argue that a “lasting” peace can only be made with US air support. The military responsible who must coordinate the coalition will meet in the vicinity of London on Thursday to discuss the operational details of the entire operation.
“These are not just troops,” explains the Stmerer spokesman, highlighting that “there would be a significant force with a significant number of countries.”
A larger group of European Union countries, which includes Ireland, Luxembourg and Belgium, do not exclude the possibility of participating in a possible force, depending on the agreed commitment rules and their legal base.
Already the countries that border Russia, such as Finland and Poland, have actively participated in these discussions, but without committing to send soldiers, arguing that their troops have to remain in the country of origin to defend their own territory in case Russia use a ceasefire to reposition forces.
The fact that US President Donald Trump refused to offer air support or other military aid has grown doubts about this peacekeeping mission.
“No one wants to see a small number of European troops, without US support, in the line of fire in Ukraine,” said a European Union diplomat. “This would put a huge pressure on the unity of the NATO if something happened.”
In total, 26 countries kept conversations in London on Saturday. Most were European nations, but were also present in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Japan did not attend the meeting, but offered “support”, as Stmerer explained.
Kaja Kallas, representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, will maintain talks with United Kingdom Foreign Minister David Lammy and Defense Minister John Healey in London on Tuesday.
