Britain and France Plan to Send Forces to Ukraine should a Peace Deal is Finalized

The British and French governments have signed a declaration of intent concerning the stationing of troops in the nation if a peace agreement be made with Moscow, the Prime Minister of Britain, Starmer, has stated.

Following discussions with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he said that the allies would "set up defense centers across Ukraine and build secure structures for arms and military equipment" to discourage any subsequent attack.

The coalition members also proposed that the US would play the primary role in monitoring a truce.

Russia has on multiple occasions warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be considered a "acceptable aim", but has not yet responded on this latest development.

Background and Continuing War

Moscow's leader Vladimir Putin initiated a major offensive of Ukraine in early 2022, and Russia currently controls about 20% of Ukraine's sovereign soil.

"This is a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the duration," commented the British leader.

Heads of state and senior officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in Tuesday's talks.

He stated at a joint press conference, Starmer added: "It creates the pathway for the juridical structure under which allied and coalition forces could operate on Ukraine's territory, defending Ukraine's airspace and waters, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the time to come."

The PM also stated that Britain would participate in any US-led verification of a prospective cessation of hostilities.

Security Guarantees and Diplomatic Positions

Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff remarked that "long-term defense assurances and strong prosperity commitments are essential to a enduring ceasefire" in Ukraine – alluding to a central requirement made by Kyiv.

He indicated the partner nations had "mostly completed" their work on establishing such pledges "in order that the people of Ukraine know that when this war ends, it ends forever."

The former US envoy, ex-President Donald Trump's special envoy, also participated in the discussions.

Meanwhile, France's leader Emmanuel Macron declared that Ukraine's partners had made "major headway" at the meeting.

He added that "strong" defense assurances for the Ukrainian government had been settled upon in the event of a potential ceasefire.

Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky stated that a "major step forward" had been made in the talks, but added that he would only view efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the cessation of the conflict.

Earlier, Zelensky indicated a settlement was "largely prepared". Settling the last 10% would "decide the outcome of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe".

Remaining Challenges

• Territory and security guarantees have been at the forefront of unresolved issues for the parties involved.
• Putin has consistently stated that Ukraine's forces must pull back from the entirety of Ukraine's eastern Donbas or Russia will take control, refusing any compromise over how to end the war.
• The Ukrainian President has to date excluded surrendering any territory, but has proposed that Ukraine could move its troops to an agreed point – but only if Russia follows suit.

Moscow presently occupies about 75% of the Donetsk oblast and around 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk. The pair of oblasts form the heartland of Donbas.

The earlier US-led 28-point peace plan that was extensively reported to the media last year was seen by Ukraine and its EU supporters as being strongly biased in Russia's direction.

This led to a period of high-level negotiations – with Ukraine, the US and European leaders trying to adjust the proposal.

The previous month, The Ukrainian government presented the US an revised framework – as well as separate documents describing prospective defense assurances and arrangements for Ukraine's reconstruction, Zelensky stated.