LONDON, November 26. /TASS/. The UK does not intend to deploy its troops for combat in Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in an interview with La Repubblica.
"We are very clear that we stand ready and continue to support the Ukrainians with training particularly. But there has been a long-standing position that we are not committing UK troops to the theatre of action that is certainly the UK position and remains the UK position at this time," he said. "We are not committing UK troops on the ground to Ukraine," Lammy added, ignoring other questions as to whether the UK might engage private military companies for this purpose or UK peacekeepers in the event of a ceasefire.
The official also insisted that he saw absolutely no interest in peace talks on the part of Moscow. According to him, due to this, London will continue to provide military aid to the Kiev regime so it may continue fighting.
"We've got probably a bitter, tough winter approaching us in Europe. That is a tough winter for Ukrainian troops. Let us ensure that today, that now, we put Ukraine in the strongest possible position as we head into 2025 where I suspect the fighting will continue," he concluded.
On Monday, Le Monde reported that European countries resumed discussions over sending Western troops and fighters from private defense companies to Ukraine. According to the newspaper, this is driven by the fact that Washington may scale back support for Ukraine after Donald Trump returns to office as US president on January 20, 2025. The paper claims that the debate resumed after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited France on November 11. However, several EU countries continue to oppose the plans that were first announced by French President Emmanuel Macron at a Paris meeting of Ukraine’s allies in February.
Macron said on February 26 that around 20 Western countries taking part in a Paris meeting on further assistance for Kiev had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. According to the French president, no consensus was reached on the issue then, but such a possibility cannot be ruled out in the future. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would lead to severe, if not irreversible, consequences.