Sir Keir Starmer has said he is willing to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine to enforce a peace deal ahead of meeting other European leaders at an emergency summit on Monday.

The prime minister hopes to act as a bridge between Europe and the US after the transatlantic relationship was strained by Donald Trumps decision to speak to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

It comes after Trumps Ukraine envoy suggested European countries could be left out of peace talks.

Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Keir said he is willing to send British troops to Ukraine “ the first time hes explicitly said this.

He explained: The UK is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine.

It means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.

Craig Munro breaks down Westminster chaos into easy to follow insight, walking you through what the latest policies mean to you. Sign up here.

Sorry, this video isn''t available any more.

I do not say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harms way.

Sir Keir will join French president Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders at the emergency summit tomorrow, to consider how to respond to Trumps push for an end to the war in Ukraine.

Leaders from Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, along with the presidents of the European Council, European Commission, and the secretary general of Nato, will be in attendance.

Hell then pass on that message from Europe to the US when he visits Trump later this month.

The prime minister added: This is a once-in-a-generation moment for our national security where we engage with the reality of the world today and the threat we face from Russia.

Its clear Europe must take on a greater role in Nato as we work with the United States to secure Ukraines future and face down the threat we face from Russia.

The UK will work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together. We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.

It comes after Mr Trumps special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, suggested on Saturday that European leaders would be sidelined from negotiations on a peace deal, heightening concerns on the continent about the possible appeasement Putin.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested a new European army might be needed in future if the US cannot be relied on to guarantee the security of the continent.

In his keynote speech, Mr Zelensky said we cant rule out the possibility that America might say no to Europe on issues that threaten it.

Mr Zelensky said: A few days ago, President Trump told me about his conversation with Putin. Not once did he mention that America needs Europe at the table. That says a lot.

The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.

He said the time has come, the armed forces of Europe must be created.

Washington has suggested Nato membership for Ukraine could be off the table and Mr Zelensky will have to cede territory to Russia as part of any deal to end the war.

US officials and Russian counterparts are expected to hold talks in Saudi Arabia ahead of an anticipated meeting between Trump and Putin.

Mr Zelensky said: Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement.

Retired general Mr Kellogg said the negotiations would be between Russia and Ukraine, with Mr Trump acting as mediator “ but Europe would still be able to have an input.

To think that hes going to do this alone is wrong, we never said that, Mr Kellogg told the Munich Security Conference.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy urged European nations to do more to support Ukraine, saying the financial cost of failure would be considerably more than extra spending to support Kyiv.

And Mr Rutte said European nations have to spend more on their own defence.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy

Stay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy