Sir Keir Starmer will lead fresh talks with ‘coalition of the willing’ allies on Saturday as global leaders continue to scramble to shore up Ukraine’s defence.
The Prime Minister will host a virtual meeting with around 20 largely European and Commonwealth countries to end another week of frantic diplomatic activity.
The call will be held between nations who have expressed an interest in supporting a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, should Russia agree to halt its brutal invasion.
Sir Keir will have been buoyed by reports that Spain is ready to contribute in some capacity to the enforcement of a peace deal.
It had previously been thought Spain was unlikely to join a peacekeeping effort, but El Pais said the Spanish government had decided it ‘cannot remain on the sidelines’.
Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron have both said they are willing to commit troops to a potential peacekeeping force on the ground in Ukraine.
But not all the nations who are involved in the coalition talks are expected to sign up to a military deployment.
They could instead offer logistical help for a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, or provide other forms of support.
The Prime Minister will host a virtual meeting with around 20 largely European and Commonwealth countries to end another week of frantic diplomatic activity
Ukrainian soldiers pictured at their D-30 artillery position in the direction of Toretsk, Ukraine
Sir Keir will have been buoyed by reports that Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez is ready to contribute in some capacity to the enforcement of a peace deal
The virtual meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’ will come after military chiefs from potential members meet in France tomorrow.
This is the same day that US and Ukrainian officials are due to meet in Saudi Arabia for talks about a possible peace deal.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Britain’s chief of the defence staff, will join counterparts in Paris on Tuesday.
Defence Secretary John Healey will then meet his opposite numbers from France, Germany, Italy and Poland in the French capital on Wednesday.
The meeting of defence ministers will also be attended by representatives from NATO and the EU, with Ukraine’s Rustem Umerov dialling in.
Foreign ministers from the G7 – including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US counterpart Marco Rubio – will meet in Canada from Wednesday to Friday.
The PM’s official spokesman said: ‘There was the meeting last week, there’s another meeting tomorrow, there’s a defence secretary-level meeting on Wednesday, there will be the leaders’ meeting on Saturday.
‘Each of these meetings is obviously progressing the planning.
‘I’m not going to get ahead of proposals being made public but obviously these discussions are ongoing, as you can see from these meetings.’
Sir Keir has stressed the need for US President Donald Trump to provide a ‘backstop’ security guarantee for a possible European-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
The flags of Saudi Arabia and Ukraine line the King Abdulaziz Road in the Saudi port city of Jeddah
Government insiders have warned of a ‘chicken and egg’ situation where European and Commonwealth nations will not promise troops without US guarantees.
But Mr Trump will not make commitments unless Europe steps up to defend itself.
The UK’s national security adviser was in Kyiv for talks over the weekend with top officials ahead of Tuesday’s talks between the Ukrainian and American delegations.
Jonathan Powell met Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the president in Ukraine.
In a post on X, Mr Yermak said that they ‘exchanged views on key issues on the path to achieving peace’.
