Downing Street has said that all options “remain on the table” when it comes to support for Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
A Number 10 spokesman said on Friday that “advanced coalition of the willing planning is developing at pace” and “all options remain on the table” when it comes to supporting Kyiv.
The Times newspaper reported on Friday that the UK is likely to abandon plans to send troops to Ukraine as risks are considered to be too high, however Number 10 said that it does not recognise that report.
A Number 10 spokesman said on Friday: “All options remain on the table and advanced coalition of the willing planning is developing at pace.”
The spokesman also pointed to the Operation Interflex programme training Ukrainian troops as one of the ways the country is being supported.
Asked whether troops being deployed would be dependent on the US offering a “backstop” to a peace deal, the spokesman said he would not give a running commentary on talks, but added: “As the Prime Minister has said in recent days, we’re working closely with the US. We’re all focussed on ending the bloodshed and securing a lasting peace forUkraine.”
Earlier on Friday, Environment Secretary Steve Reed said that a“strong alliance of countries” is needed to “make sure that any peace deal can hold”.
It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that negotiations to try and end the war are at an “intense stage” and reiterated calls for Russia to “come to the table and agree to a ceasefire”.
Sir Keir is continuing efforts toward securing a ceasefire in Ukraine (Finnbarr Webster/PA)
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Talks have been ongoing between European nations as to what support the “coalition of the willing” could provide to Ukraine, and Sir Keir suggested in February he was “ready and willing” to put troops on the ground.
Asked about the reports in the Times, Mr Reed told Sky News that “those negotiations are still under way”.
He added: “There haven’t been any decisions taken yet, but all options remain on the table, whether that’s land, air or sea.
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“We need a strong alliance of countries – a coalition of the willing as the Prime Minister calls it – to make sure that any peace deal can hold, because nobody wants to see this situation happening again in Ukraine.”
Air strikes in Kyiv are continuing (AP)
AP
Pushed again on whether ground troops would not be sent from the UK, he added: “All options remain on the table.”
The UK has been looking to convene a coalition of allied nations who would be willing to support a peace deal in Ukraine in the event that one is reached.
On Thursday, the UK stepped up its demands on Vladimir Putin to agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire after a further overnight strike on Kyiv.
Earlier this week, US leader Donald Trump suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wasmaking it “difficult to settle” the war with Russia over his opposition to recognising Moscow’s annexation of Crimea.
The US administration is urging Kyiv to accept Russia’s continued control of occupied Ukrainian regions and Moscow’s ownership of the Crimean peninsula as part of a peace settlement.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph on Thursday, Sir Keir said that it is for Ukraine to decide on terms.
“We are at an intense stage in the negotiations,” he sad.
“In the end, I’m always mindful of the fact that it is Ukraine that must decide on those issues – it’s not for other people to decide on behalf of Ukraine. It is for Ukraine to decide. And Russia must come to the table for that unconditional ceasefire.”
Asked whether Mr Zelensky was to blame for the lack of a peace deal, he told the newspaper: “No. Russia is the aggressor. Never forget that Zelensky was offered safe passage out of his country in the first week of the conflict.”
