US must provide ‘backstop’ to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again, Starmer says after emergency Paris summit – Europe live | Ukraine

Starmer says that the key issue is to “maintain the principle of peace through strength” by “making sure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position.”

He pointedly warns against thinking that peace talks starting could lead to reducing support for Ukraine.

“We need to ramp it up,” he says, as he adds that is the only way to secure a “lasting, enduring and just agreement that secure the sovereignty of Ukraine.”

Starmer insists that any guarantees offered to Ukraine must include a US backstop as he says that is “the only way” to effectively deter Russia from future attacks again.

Starmer repeats that he is prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others.

He says the European response is in early stages and he intends to discuss it further with US president Trump during his visit to Washington DC next week.

“In this moment, we have to recognise the new era that we are in, not cling hopelessly to the comforts of the past. It’s time for us to take responsibility for our security, for our continent,” he says.

UK’s Keir Starmer is speaking now, too.

He says that “at stake is not just the future of Ukraine, it is an existential question for Europe as a whole,” and a “once in a generation moment of collective security of our continent.”

“Only a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty will deter Putin from further aggression,” he says.

Starmer called for the US to provide a “backstop” to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again after meeting with European leaders for emergency talks on the war.

He says that Trump’s comments asking Europe to step up “should not come as a surprise,” and says “Europeans will have to step up, both in terms of spending and the capabilities that we provide to Ukraine.”

Tusk gets asked about any potential deployment of Polish troops to Ukraine.

He says the meeting has not changed anything in the Polish view, but stresses the importance of Polish support in logistics and broader humanitarian support for Ukraine.

“If it is possible to offer security guarantees through presence, with the US, with Nato, then Poland will be active in various ways, but I do not envisage sending Polish troops to Ukraine,” he says.

He makes a long point about other ways in which Poland is supporting Ukraine, and how it needs to look after its security, too.

“Poland and countries on the eastern flank are in a sense on the frontline, bordering with Russia, Belarus, and wartorn Ukraine. … When it comes to Poland, the Baltics, we need European and allied investment in our security,” he says.

If these countries “are not safe, supported by the entire alliance … they won’t be able to effectively help Ukraine,” he says.

“If the EU is unable to defend itself, then why should it give guarantees to others? Particularly as these would be empty guarantees anyway,” he says.

“We want any future obligations towards Europe to be serious. It so happens that Ukraine had different guarantees in the past, starting from the Budapest memorandum …,” he says.

Tusk also reiterates that any peace in Ukraine would need to be just and lasting, and Ukraine must be involved in any peace talks.

He also says that leaders agreed on the importance of close cooperation between the EU and the US on next steps.

Poland’s Tusk says that European relations with the US are “in a new stage” under Trump, as leaders realise that it’s time for them to become more self-reliant and radically increase defence spending as he calls for greater European defence capabilities.

Scholz spoke about how Europe must continue to support Ukraine and reassure Kyiv it can rely on Europe’s backing.

“We welcome that there are talks about a peace agreement, but for us it is clear this cannot be a diktat,” he said.

He also said that Ukraine must be allowed to defend itself, continue on the path to join the European Union, and have own strong army. He said these matters are not up for negotiations.

Scholz also returned to the idea of reforming the EU’s fiscal rules, suggesting that any spending above 2% GDP on defence should be excluded from existing restrictions.

He says new sources of financing are required so that further support for Ukraine does not come through cuts to domestic budgets and public services.

The German chancellor is also once again asked by the idea of deploying European troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force and he repeats the earlier line that such discussions are premature.

He says he is irritated by such suggestions as they are speculative and get ahead of any peace talks, dismissing them as “highly inappropriate.”

Scholz also says there can be no rift between Europe and the US on security, as he stresses the importance of the Nato alliance.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz is briefing the press after the meeting now.

He just said that no diktat can be imposed on Ukraine, and stressed that Europe should continue to support Ukraine, Reuters reports.

We will bring you further lines soon and you can watch his press conference in German below.

Jakub Krupa

So the front doors to the Élysée are now closed as European leaders discuss how to respond to Trump and Putin and what to put forward as their plan for Ukraine – oh, to be a fly on the wall!

Just to give you an idea on what’s next, the talks are expected to run for about two hours (wouldn’t bet on it at all), and many leaders are expected to speak to the media afterwards.

We will obviously bring you all the latest when it happens.

French president Emmanuel Macron spoke with US president Donald Trump ahead of an informal meeting of European leaders in Paris on Ukraine, a French presidency official told Reuters.