Starmer says that (Image: Getty)
believes a “significant number” of countries will come together to form his “coalition of the willing”, his spokesperson has said. On Saturday, hosted leaders of 26 nations via video call to discuss plans for continued European support of following Kyiv’s agreement to a proposed ceasefire by the United States.
Military chiefs will meet on Thursday to outline and plan what calls the “operational phase” of the alliance’s plan to protect as part of a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire. believes that as many as “30 countries” could contribute in some way, although he declined to say who these countries were. Notably, the United States was not present for the meeting.
Don’t miss…
On Saturday Starmer chaired the meeting of 26 leaders (Image: Getty)
said: “The contribution capabilities will vary, but this will be a significant force, with a significant number of countries providing troops and a larger group contributing in other ways.”
has repeatedly insisted that any ceasefire hinges on promises that no NATO soldiers will be used to police any buffer zone between the two countries.
When asked about the potential for escalation if opened fire on troops from a NATO ally, the PM’s spokesperson said: “It’s worth remembering that didn’t ask when it deployed troops.
“We’ve got operational planning meetings that they are going through.”
A spokesperson for the PM refused to confirm whether or not the United States would have a presence at Thursday’s meeting, but did say the UK is having “regular discussions with our American counterparts”.
Don’t miss…
So far Britain and France are the only countries to commit to putting “boots on the ground.” (Image: Getty)
It remains to be seen what the make up of a peacekeeping force will comprise of and how many troops the UK would be willing or able to contribute.
Defence industry analyst and Land Warfare specialist Nicholas Drummond said: “The British Army struggled to maintain a force of 10,000 in Afghanistan, even when its total headcount exceeded 110,000.
“When it comes to deploying troops to , it’s delusional to think a reduced Army of 70,000 will be better able to sustain 10,000 troops.”
On Monday evening, a White House spokesperson said that had never been closer between and on Tuesday.
Last week, the Russian leader said that he would be open to the possibility of a ceasefire but reiterated that a lot of questions need to be answered before his country is able to agree.
Countries that form the “Coalition of the willing”
- Australia
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Iceland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Spain
- Sweden
- Turkey
- UK