Over 30 nations are expected to join the “coalition of the willing” to assist in ending the conflict in Ukraine, as announced by Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson.
This announcement followed a virtual meeting on Saturday, where leaders from 26 Western countries, along with two EU leaders and NATO’s secretary general, convened after Ukraine’s president agreed to a 30-day tentative ceasefire.
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It was further stated that military leaders will convene on Thursday to discuss the subsequent stage of safeguarding Ukraine within the context of a peacekeeping mission should a peace accord be reached with Russia.
On Monday, the prime minister’s spokesperson confirmed the expectation of more than 30 countries participating in the coalition but did not reveal the identities of additional countries since Saturday.
The spokesperson emphasized that while not all nations will send troops as part of a peacekeeping force, there will be various contributions from the involved countries.
Regarding the possibility of British troops responding to fire from Russian forces in Ukraine, the spokesperson noted the lack of a prior request from Russia when deploying troops in Ukraine.
The spokesperson also mentioned ongoing operational planning meetings and the UK’s “regular discussions” with the US, who notably has not joined the coalition or the military chiefs’ meeting scheduled for Thursday.
The virtual call included leaders from: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and the UK. Additionally, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and EU Council President Antonio Costa participated.
Please note, this is a developing story and additional updates and details will be available shortly.
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