Britain and France to Deploy Troops to the Country if a Peace Agreement is Agreed

The London and Paris have formalized a statement of purpose concerning the stationing of troops in Ukraine should a peace deal be made with Russia, the Prime Minister of Britain, Keir Starmer, has declared.

Subsequent to talks with allied nations in the French capital, he noted that the two nations would "create defense centers throughout Ukraine and construct secure structures for arms and equipment" to prevent any subsequent invasion.

The allied nations also proposed that the United States would play the primary role in monitoring a halt in hostilities.

The Kremlin has on multiple occasions warned that any non-Ukrainian military in Ukraine would be considered a "acceptable aim", but has so far not issued a statement on this recent declaration.

Context and Ongoing War

The Kremlin's head Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russian forces at this time occupies about 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This constitutes a crucial element of our pledge to be alongside Ukraine for the long-term," stated Starmer.

Top officials and senior officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" participated in the Paris negotiations.

Speaking at a shared media briefing, the Prime Minister noted: "It establishes the framework for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could work on Ukraine's territory, securing Ukraine's air and maritime domains, and regenerating Ukraine's defense capabilities for the years ahead."

The British leader added that the UK would participate in any Washington-directed monitoring of a potential ceasefire.

Defense Assurances and Negotiation Stances

Senior American diplomat Steve Witkoff remarked that "long-term security guarantees and robust economic promises are vital to a permanent resolution" in Ukraine – alluding to a key demand made by Kyiv.

The negotiator said the allies had "mostly completed" their work on finalizing such assurances "to ensure the Ukrainian people know that when this war ends, it ends for good."

Donald Trump's son-in-law, ex-President Donald Trump's representative, also participated in the talks.

Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Ukraine's allies had made "significant progress" at the negotiations.

He noted that "strong" defense assurances for Ukraine had been settled upon in the case of a potential truce.

Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky said that a "significant step forward" had been made in the negotiations, but qualified that he would only consider efforts to be "sufficient" if they resulted in the end of the conflict.

Recently, Zelensky indicated a settlement was "90% ready". Settling the last 10% would "shape the fate of the peace, the future of Ukraine and Europe".

Outstanding Matters

• Sovereign soil and defense assurances have been at the center of key disagreements for negotiators.
• Moscow has often said that Ukrainian troops must retreat from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region or Russia will take control, dismissing any concession over how to finish the war.
• Zelensky has thus far excluded giving up any land, but has floated the idea that Ukraine could pull back its troops to an mutually accepted point – but only if Russia reciprocates.

Moscow currently occupies about 75% of the Donetsk oblast and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The areas form the industrial region of the Donbas.

The initial US-led 28-point proposal that was widely leaked to the media last year was seen by Kyiv and its partners in Europe as being heavily skewed in Moscow's direction.

This sparked weeks of high-level discussions – with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to adjust the draft.

The previous month, Ukraine presented the US an revised framework – as well as separate documents detailing potential security guarantees and provisions for Ukraine's reconstruction, the President stated.