According to a number of sources many Western European nations with France and UK in particular have been discussing and pondering over plans to send military personnel to Ukraine, the Associated Press has claimed.
The idea has long been discussed by Western European nations. Several senior leaders, most notably French President Emmanuel Macron, have been floating the idea since at least the past year.
In an article on Friday, the AP reported that the UK and France continue to remain “at the forefront of the effort.” The media outlet quoted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as stating that “if there is peace then there needs to be some sort of security guarantee for Ukraine and the UK will play its part in that.”
US President Donald Trump’s victory in the November 5 election has accelerated discussions among European leaders, the publication alleged. This is perhaps due to the fact the US President is not interested in continuing the Ukraine war and wants a peace deal as soon as possible.
The sources also claim that a group of leaders and ministers from the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland as well as Ukraine, NATO and the EU had held a meeting in Brussels in December, where they presumably discussed a potential Western troop deployment.
The AP quoted Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur as noting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that “we are in a very early stage.” The official pointed out that much would depend on the situation along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) long front line as well as the number of troops Russia and Ukraine would keep in the area if and when any truce took hold, according to the article.
Zelensky’s Demands
Last month, Reuters quoted Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky as insisting that he expected European nations to send 200,000 troops to his country. “It’s a minimum, otherwise it’s nothing,” he remarked, according to the news agency.
Also in January, The Times, citing anonymous military and diplomatic sources, reported that Germany, Poland and the Baltic states opposed any potential deployment for various reasons, with the UK, France and the Nordic nations being in favor.
Earlier this month, the New York Times quoted an unnamed senior European official as saying that the “continent doesn’t even have 200,000 troops to offer,” apparently referring to Zelensky’s reported demand in January.
Speaking late last month, senior Russian diplomat Rodion Miroshnik warned that “any contingent entering the territory of Ukraine without the consent and permission of Russia is a military target, with quite understandable consequences.”
In an interview with RIA Novosti on Monday, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, echoed his colleague’s statement, emphasizing that “peacekeepers cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council.”
The US has been in talks with Kremlin and it is expected a crucial meeting will take place between US and Russian officials to put an end to the protracted war which will soon enter its fourth year. Trump has also been demanding Kiev to payback the US its aid money by handing over its Rare earth resources.
Meanwhile Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has been looking for alternative options. He has even offered Ukraine’s critical minerals to European nations. Zelensky has consistently stressed that any peace deal with Russia should also involve the European nations and that he will not accept any deal which does not include his European ‘allies’.
