Europe must 'step up' on Ukraine, says Starmer
By: Ian Aikman (BBC News)
Where have the Europeans been the last three years? Now that an American President has finally taken the hint to directly negotiate with Russia, Europeans are afraid they'll be left out. And, naturally, the European response is to threaten escalation to undermine any peace negotiations.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Europe must "step up" its defence capabilities to face the "generational" security challenge posed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said.
His remarks come after he wrote that he was "ready and willing" to put UK troops on the ground in Ukraine to help guarantee its safety in a future peace deal.
Sir Keir arrived in Paris on Monday afternoon for summit of European leaders to discuss concerns over the US-Russia talks on ending the war that will lock out the continent.
US and Russian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, without representatives from Europe or Ukraine attending.
"We need to step up in terms of our collective response in Europe, and by that I mean capability," Sir Keir said ahead of the meeting at the Elysee Palace.
"By that, I mean playing our full part when it comes to the defence of the sovereignty of Ukraine if there's a peace agreement."
The prime minister had earlier written in the Telegraph that he was willing to send soldiers to Ukraine, alongside troops from other European nations, in a peacekeeping role to police the border between Ukrainian-held and Russian-held territory.
But the former head of the British Army, Lord Dannatt, said doing so would come at a "considerable cost" and require an increase in military funding.
The UK currently spends around 2.3% of its total economic output on defence. The government has committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5%, but has not said when this will be achieved.
Sir Keir told reporters that the government would set out a path to meeting the 2.5% commitment once it finishes its strategic defence review.
"Part of my message to our European allies is that we've all got to step up on both capability and on spending and funding," he said.
"That includes the UK, which is why I've made that commitment to spend more."
Sir Keir has joined the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, along with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The hastily arranged summit was announced over the weekend after Trump administration officials suggested European nations, including Ukraine, would be consulted on peace talks with Russia but not involved directly in them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv did not know about the talks and would not recognise any agreement made without its involvement.
European leaders have also expressed concern after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that it was "unrealistic" to expect Ukraine will return to its pre-2014 borders - before Russia annexed Crimea and took parts of the nation's south and east in its 2022 full-scale invasion.
Hegseth also downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining the mutual defence alliance Nato - something with Sir Keir has said it was on an "irreversible" path towards.
A Downing Street spokesman said the prime minister will tell Monday's summit Europe must "take on a greater role in Nato" as the Trump administration adopts a less interventionist approach to foreign policy.
Sir Keir will say this requires "further supporting Ukraine's military" as well as "being ready to contribute to security guarantees by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary", the spokesman added.
Meanwhile, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has already indicated his nation would not send troops into Ukraine, but would continue to support it with military, financial and humanitarian aid.
Fighting on the ground in Ukraine continued over the weekend, with at least three civilians killed in Russian strikes on Sunday, according to local authorities.
Several areas of Ukraine are under an emergency blackout following attacks on energy infrastructure, while Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed 90 Ukrainian drones on Sunday night.
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If Europe had been negotiating with Russia then maybe the whole Ukrainian war could have been avoided. It's a little late to be whining over being left out of the process.
Europe is going to ramp up defense spending and put their money where their mouth is at? That'll really show Trump.
The USA has bailed out their ungrateful asses in two world wars plus billions in aid and provided protection by our overseas bases and troops stationed thereon. It's time for the Europeans to step up and provide for their common welfare and defense.
With the exception of the USA "bailing their asses out " this country was actually a johnny come lately in both those wars , i agree with the rest of your statement .
During the early days of WWII, the majority of Americans wanted to stay out of the war. The only reason we entered the war was after the Japanese attacked us first (Pearl Harbor)-- then we had to enter.
Nothing is stopping them from defeating Russia on their own. They just want America to do it for them.
Link?
Doesn't that data prove that Europe doesn't need assistance from the United States? Since the US is such a small contributor then there's no valid reason to be upset about the US withdrawing support.
I would like to see the raw numbers associated with the "%of GDP" above. Especially since that display was from 2022.
Thank you...............
Again demonstrating that Europe can defend Ukraine (and itself) without the United States. The only thing the EU needs from the US are atomic bombs. And the US can't maintain that nuclear deterrence by wasting money on NATO or the EU. So, spending money on NATO and EU military actually leaves Europe defenseless.
No, it does not.
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The French have those.
So do the English, and while they are technically not part of the EU, you would think they would not sit on the sidelines.
No reason except it would show the world that the U.S. is a country that can't be counted on to help defend its friends...
Well, is the United States a shitty country or not? What else was the posted data supposed to show?
The only thing the world seems to care about is America's money. Are we buying friendship with out children's future? Other than money, we're told the United States has nothing to offer. If we're constantly told the United States is a shitty country then maybe its time to live up to those expectations.
So?
So, it shows that other countries are pulling their weight better than the US is. So Trump's claim that they are not pulling their fair share is just another lie out of Trump's oversized ass.
What a dumb thing to say. THe US is projecting force and sending aid across an ocean for no reason other than altruism.
Europe has skimped on defense to the point they can't achieve strategic autonomy against what they call an existential threat a couple hundred miles away even when they all join together. They still need others, mainly America, to carry almost half the load. That Germany and France on their own can't defeat a chopped up Russia should be setting off massive alarm bells. What have they been doing since 2014?
Talk about dumb things to say!!! What other reasons do these other countries have for donating more aid than the US in comparison to their GDP? They are going farther out of their way than the US.
Hmm. Why would Poland would be more concerned with the threat from Russia than the US??
Such a tough one.
Poland is a member of NATO, Poland has nothing to fear from Putin.
Thanks for the genuine lol. What an absurd, self defeating argument. America and Poland share the same strategic position to Russia. Great stuff.
NATO scares Putin shitless. That's why he is trying to use his hand puppet Trump to break up NATO.