UK-Sweden Ready to Send Peacekeeping Force to Ukraine

PARIS, MONDAY – European leaders gathered in Paris, France, on Monday (17/2/2025), for an emergency meeting to discuss the response to the drastic diplomatic measures taken by the United States in the Ukraine-Russia war. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday evening local time.

Before the meeting was held, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer openly stated that he was considering sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine. Sweden also issued a statement that they did not rule out the possibility of deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine.

It was a drastic step after nearly three years of Europe avoiding direct contact with the war in Ukraine.

The meeting in Paris on Monday (17/2/2025) was initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron. He invited leaders from the European Union, including Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland, as well as the non-European Union country, the United Kingdom. Also present was the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Mark Rutte.

Macron organized the sudden meeting following the NATO meeting last week in Brussels, Belgium. During the event, United States (US) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth stated that the most realistic way to resolve the war between Ukraine and Russia is by not allowing Ukraine to join NATO. Additionally, Hegseth continued, expecting Ukraine's geographical territory to be the same as before the Russian invasion is unrealistic.

Hegseth's remarks have offended Europe and NATO.

US President Donald Trump also called Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. Europe considers that Trump's move sidelines them. In fact, Europe is the region that directly feels the impact of the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reiterated that any negotiations regarding the conflict must involve Kyiv and Europe.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer became the first European leader to publicly say he was considering sending peacekeepers to Ukraine, in an opinion piece for the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Sunday (16/2/2025).

In the article, Starmer stressed the importance of Europe taking a bigger role in resolving the Ukraine-Russia war and peace talks.

"Britain is ready to initiate the next steps to resolve this conflict, including deploying troops on the ground if necessary. This war must end permanently, without leaving the possibility for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to attack again," said Starmer.

After Starmer's article was published, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson responded. He said Stockholm was also considering the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. However, Kristersson stressed that this would be on the condition that no results were obtained from the peace negotiations.

"If the talks go ahead and there is a clear mandate regarding the need to send troops, Sweden will participate," Kristersson said.

Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said Poland will not send troops to Ukraine. "Poland will support Ukraine, as it has always done: organizationally, financially, humanitarianly and militaryly," Tusk told reporters before flying to Paris.

"We have no plans to send Polish troops to countries that might provide similar guarantees in the future, such as physical guarantees," Tusk added.

As of February 24, 2025, the war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for three years. Russia invaded Ukraine under the pretext of not wanting Ukraine to join NATO. Moscow said that Russia had repeatedly raised objections to Kyiv, Brussels, Washington and NATO, but they had been ignored, so they decided to take coercive measures.

During the war, Russian troops occupied the Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine. Previously, in 2014, Russia was accused of annexing the Crimean Peninsula. However, according to Moscow, the residents of the Crimean Peninsula decided to join Russia in a referendum that same year.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that Kyiv will not negotiate with Moscow if the return of the five regions is not included in the terms of the ceasefire and peace. This context, according to Hegseth in Brussels last week, does not make sense because it will be difficult to achieve in reality. It would be better, according to Hegseth, for Ukraine's geographical borders to be updated according to the conditions on the ground.

Meanwhile, the US is preparing its own talks with Russia to take place in Saudi Arabia. The US delegation that has arrived in Riyadh includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and US Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

There is no certainty that Trump will go to Riyadh. However, last week, at the White House, Trump did not rule out the possibility that he would fly to Saudi Arabia and meet Putin in person. The meeting of the US delegation with Russia itself is scheduled for Tuesday (2/18/2025).

As reported by the Telegraph, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia will not give up an inch of land if negotiations with Ukraine take place. He also sees no reason to involve Europe in the negotiations.

"Why should Europe be invited, while they want to continue the war? Europe has had the opportunity to actively participate in ending the war several times, but they did not do it," Lavrov said. (AFP/Reuters)