Keir Starmer’s proposal to have European troops stationed in Ukraine, with security guarantees from America, is “a very long way” from becoming reality.
That’s the view of ex-UK national security adviser Sir Mark Lyall Grant.
He tells Sophy Ridge while the prime minister is “right” to have publicly suggested such an arrangement in the event of a peace deal, especially before his trip to the White House next week, Russian opposition to it makes the whole thing unlikely.
“It will never be realised unless there is an agreement by both sides on some sort of permanent deal which guarantees the future sovereignty of Ukraine and has credible security guarantees,” he says.
“I think we’re a very long way from that today. Starmer’s gesture is a more political one than a military decision.”
Watch: Could we see British troops in Ukraine?
‘Trump can still be a peacemaker’
Starmer should go to the White House with two main messages, he says.
First, that the UK is “stepping up to the plate” in terms of supporting Ukraine, and second on the importance of Trump helping to secure a sustainable peace that Russia won’t break.
“There’s a real opportunity for Trump to be peacemaker, but it has to be credible peace – he can legitimately try to win the Nobel Peace Prize if he’s the architect of a sustainable peace and end to this conflict,” he says.
“But if he just goes for a rapid, down and dirty peace agreement that’s not going to last several years, his legacy will be trashed in the same way President Biden was by the withdrawal from Afghanistan.”