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LONDON ― More countries have signed up to Britain and France’s plan to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, Keir Starmer said.
Speaking to reporters after a summit of European and world leaders in London on Sunday, the United Kingdom’s prime minister insisted the “coalition of the willing” plan must have United States backing. Donald Trump’s America was a “reliable ally,” he said.
“A number of countries” agreed to commit troops to a peacekeeping force during the summit, Starmer said, but he added that he would leave it to individual nations to announce their participation.
It reflected a similar statement on defense spending made after the summit by NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Rutte said he heard “new announcements” around the table for more European countries vowing to “ramp up defense spending.” But he would not be drawn on further details.
Starmer called the summit in London to drum up support for the peacekeeping plan and to get European leaders to commit to defense spending increases.
It was revealed on Sunday morning that the U.K., France and Ukraine would work on a peace plan and present it to Trump.
The summit was hosted by Starmer and attended by other European and world leaders ― including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ― but there was no U.S. representation.
Rearming Europe
The gathering came in the shadow of Friday’s disastrous meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, which caused European leaders to question whether America can be relied upon as a leader of the Western alliance.
“We are at a crossroads in history,” Starmer said. Europe “must do the heavy lifting.”
But, he added: “The discussions we’ve had today, particularly the coalition of the willing, is on the basis that this is a plan that we will work with, with the U.S., and that it will have U.S. backing.”
“That is the purpose of the plan and that is why I spoke to President Trump last night before we develop the work on this plan.”
Starmer announced before the summit that he and French President Emmanuel Macron would take the lead on coming up with a draft peace plan to bring to Trump.
Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House on Friday without signing an agreed U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal, which European officials believe would have bound Trump closer to Ukraine’s security.
After the summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “we urgently have to rearm Europe” — and she said she will present a “comprehensive plan” for this at a meeting of European leaders this Thursday.
She added: “It’s basically [about] turning Ukraine into a steel porcupine that is indigestible for potential invaders.”
European leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday.
Dan Bloom, Clea Caulcutt, Chris Lunday and Nicholas Vinocur contributed to this article.
