Can incoming Trump administration broker peace between Ukraine and Russia?

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are exploring the potential deployment of British and French troops as peacekeeping forces to Ukraine, contingent on a ceasefire agreement between Moscow and Kyiv, according to media reports.

Sources within the U.K. government suggested that while Macron was generally positive about this possibility, Starmer has not yet reached a final decision on the matter and some members of his cabinet opposed the idea. The British prime minister was in Kyiv for an unannounced visit on 16 January to discuss the issue with President Volodimir Zelenski.

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Sending British and French soldiers to Ukraine as peacekeepers could materialize only if Moscow and Kyiv reach a ceasefire agreement, which in turn depends on whether the incoming administration of Donald Trump can persuade the sides to stop fighting and start negotiating.

The eventual deployment of British and French troops to Ukraine would mark the first ever presence of armed NATO soldiers in that country, something Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been trying to avoid and using as an argument for his war.

The United States – either the Joe Biden administration and Trump’s team – and Russia have not commented on the reports.

Sources: The Telegraph, Bloomberg, AP

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