Britain is pressing the United States over its plans for a “backstop” to protect a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, as a ceasefire deal between Moscow and Kyiv edged closer.
Keir Starmer said he believed Donald Trump would “have our backs” if UK soldiers on the ground in Ukraine came under fire from Russian forces.
The US president had been “absolutely clear” that Washington still supported Article 5 of the Nato treaty, which states that an attack on one member state is an attack on all, the Prime Minister said.
However, it is understood Britain believes that the US security guarantees must go further than this backing of the Nato commitment, and has asked for peacekeepers to have air and surveillance cover from Washington.
Defence Secretary John Healey arrived in Washington late Wednesday for talks with his US counterpart Pete Hegseth on Thursday.
Healey will press the case for robust security guarantees as well as appeal for the US to resume military aid to Ukraine.
Starmer said Trump, with whom he has spoken three times since his visit to Washington last week, had agreed that US and UK negotiating teams would work together on security guarantees.
It is part of an extraordinary international diplomatic effort to produce a peace plan that would be acceptable to both sides in the war as well as Trump.
In the latest decision by the US administration seen as trying to force Ukraine to sign a deal, Washington cut-off intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
The move was expected to curtail Ukraine’s military efforts, in particular its use of drones which have been effective during the three-year war.
Downing Street suggested that the UK would still be able to supply US intelligence to Ukraine frontlines.
While the government refuses to comment on intelligence matters, Starmer’s official spokesman said: “It does remain a long-standing position not to comment on intelligence, but what I would say is that we have been clear previously that we will do everything to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position across all aspects of our support, particularly around defence and security, and that position hasn’t changed.”
However it is likely that the US would have a say over how its intelligence material was used.
It is hoped that both military aid and intelligence sharing would resume within days if Ukraine is ready to sign a peace deal.
There were reports in the French media that Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky are set to travel to Washington next week to present the peace plan to Trump – but No10 said that there were currently “no plans” for such a trip.
However it is likely that, if a deal is imminent, that visit would go ahead.
Ukraine said it would be meeting with US officials in the near future.
Zelensky’s chief of staff said he and US national security adviser Mike Waltz had “discussed the next steps towards a just and lasting peace” in Ukraine during a call on Wednesday.
Andriy Yermak said on X that he and Waltz had also “exchanged views on security issues and the alignment of positions,” and scheduled a meeting of Ukrainian and US officials in the near future “to continue this important work.”
At PMQs on Wednesday Starmer said: “It is vitally important that we work with the US, Europe and Ukraine and that if there is a deal it has proper security guarantees in place.”
His spokesman, asked if the UK thought Trump’s backing for Article 5 would be enough of a security guarantee, said that “conversations are ongoing” and that Britain was “engaging at all levels”. He added: “The Prime Minister has always been very clear that security guarantees, including US backing, is obviously of critical importance to a secure, durable peace.”
Waltz said Zelensky was ready to negotiate a true and then permanent peace, in the clearest sign yet that the rift between the Ukraine president and Trump is healing.
Meanwhile, a well-placed senior MP said they thought the UK Government was “keener than you think” on helping Ukraine by seizing frozen Russian assets but that Belgium, where most of the assets are held, was opposed.
But there is a “heated legal argument” going on amid fears that UK assets could in future be seized by other countries, for example if Britain was to join the US in a bombing raid to intervene in a conflict.
The MP however argued that if the US-led peace plan fails, Europe should act on using frozen assets.
“The risk of Putin winning in Ukraine is bigger than some UK assets being seized,” the MP said.
On Tuesday Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted “all options” are being considered after former prime minister Rishi Sunak urged the Government to help Ukraine by seizing frozen Russian assets.
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