Description: UK Prime Minister Ser Keir Starmer in line with the recent developments regarding the Ukraine question has stated the UK was ready to deploy peace contingents on the Ukraine – Russia border, but not without support from the US and other European countries. The statement comes after EU leaders met on Monday in Paris to discuss President Trump’s unilateral announcement to commence peace negotiations with Russia. Starmer aimed to reassert the UK as the potential diplomatic bridge between the EU and the US as bilateral relations continue to deter especially regarding the Ukraine question. Such initiatives have been raised so far by French President Emmanuel Macron in a joint front with Baltic countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania but concrete proposals are yet to be submitted as the meetings unfold. Starmer’s statement also saw defense stocks in the UK surge by approximately $5 billion.
Impact: Starmer’s contingent deployment statement could be considered as a premature vow in Europe’s name to uphold to President Trump’s requirements for extended involvement by European countries. The diplomatic meetings are yet to unfold, as nothing concrete has come from neither the US nor Russia so far. The meeting between Lavrov and Rubio in Riyadh has been designated as reestablishing of trust between Russia and the US while the Paris meeting pushed EU countries towards a threshold which would be difficult to uphold in the short to mid – term period. With definite proposals yet to come to light, troop deployment is still a far cry from any baseline which could possibly include peace in war thorn Ukraine.